Demonic Possession
by The Adorable Pancreas
Summary: AU Suze lives in a land split between good and evil. But which side is she on? Back from hiatus... again
1. Monster

**I finally got an idea for a story! Yayy!**

**This is all in Suze's POV. It's kind of weird, and I'm not sure whether I like it yet, so all feedback will be greatly appreciated – and needed. **

**Title may change as it sucks and I may change the plot.**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is from the Mediator, by Meg Cabot. **

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Chapter I**

"It was YOU!"

"It was? Oops. My bad."

"You… you betrayed us! We _trusted_ you. And you just… Do THIS!"

I got up from where I was sitting in my room, and shut the door. Seeing as he had just barged in here and tried to accuse me of something, I didn't really want anyone else – like the maids, for example – hearing whatever he had to say, and then go and gossip about it.

No. That was the _last_ thing I wanted.

"So, William," I said casually, as I turned around to face him, "What is it that I have done, exactly?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know! You know EXACTLY what you did!" He shot back at me.

"No… no, I really don't. Care to explain?"

"You really don't know, do you? You…" he gave a humourless laugh, "You betrayed us, and hurt Isabelle _so much_ – mentally AND physically – and then you just say that-" he knocked my brush off my dressing table, "-YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

Erm, okay. Not really what I was expecting there.

But…

Oh.

_OH._

Isabelle… his wife… the love of his life. God, no wonder he was angry with me. But it wasn't my fault, really. Well, okay, it may have been me who did it, but I didn't _want_ to.

William was furious. He stood there, his hazel eyes glaring, fists clenched by his sides, breathing heavily. Every time he exhaled, the little lock of hair that had fell from his head, resting just above his eyes, flew upwards. He had already pushed things off my dresser – and he was dangerously close to my mirror…

"Look, Will", I said softly, "I'm sorry. I'm so, _so_ sorry. I—"

"SORRY!" he interrupted, "You're _sorry_?" he laughed, but, once again, with no humour.

"William, it wasn't my fault. I hadn't _wanted_ to do it. But I…" I didn't know how to explain all this. How could I? How could I explain that, although I may have done it, it wasn't my fault that the love of his life almost died?

"Save it. I hate you. I _hate_ you. I hate how you could do all this and then say it 'wasn't your fault'. Wasn't your fault? Wasn't your fault! Then whose WAS it!" he literally spat in my face. I mean it, he was right in my face, and I SWEAR I felt some spit globules landing on me.

"I'm not sure I can say." I answered.

This just infuriated him even more. He grabbed both my arms – tightly – and pushed me against the wall.

… Ouch, much?

His frame was covering mine. And let me just tell you: that was one big frame. Not that he was _fat_ or anything. No… he was more than six foot with killer abs and enormous muscles. His biceps were bulging and I could see a vein in his neck that was pulsating.

So excuse _me_ if I may have trembled a little.

But I swear, it was only a little.

Oh, okay. I was shitting myself.

"It was you. Face it. It was you who locked her in that room. It was you who chained her to that pole… it was you who beat her. It was you who caused the bruises, burns and cuts. It was you who almost killed her-"

That was enough. I couldn't listen to him anymore… It hurt too much.

I conjured up all the force I had and pushed him away. He stumbled, but managed to remain standing. Shock was evident on his face, but I didn't care about him anymore. He didn't know anything. _Anything._

"Look here, _buddy_," I said, sneeringly, "You think you know exactly what happened. You think you have me all figured out. But you don't. You don't know a _thing._ Capiche? If it wasn't for me, Isabelle WOULD be dead right now. Not ALMOST. Yes, I had harmed her, but I HAD to. If I hadn't, I would be in the mess, just as much as you or her. I was MADE to hurt her. I didn't want to, but I was forced to. And… well, in the end, I was asked to kill her. Alright? But I went against my master's wishes and left. She may have been badly injured, but it's better than her being dead, okay? At least she's CONSCIOUS."

William was speechless. That much was certain. His mouth was opening and closing, but no words were formed. He looked confused, as if he wasn't sure whether to believe my story, or just not _wanting_ to believe it.

After a few minutes of complete silence – apart from my heavy breathing, due to my outburst – William spoke.

"So you… You saved her?"

I sighed. This guy was impossible. "Yes. I saved her. Sure, she may be injured, but she'll recover. At least she's not dead, like my master wanted."

"But… I know he's after her, but to want her _dead_? How could he have had her if she was dead?" he inquired.

I can honestly say that I had never really thought of that. My Lord had been after Isabelle for quite some time… But for her to be dead? Well, it all didn't really add up.

"I don't know, William," I said, quietly, "But I do know one thing: my Lord still wants her. Dead or alive. You have to do something. You've just got to try and save her, somehow."

"But how?"

I sighed. Did he expect me to know everything? Seriously? "Okay… I can't say too much. But I can give you some decisions. Number one: Give Isabelle to him. This will be much easier in the long run, and my Lord will be happy with that. Number two: Run away. Take her as far as you can, anywhere away from here. In fact – you shouldn't be here at all. Number three: Try and fight him. Hide at first, but when the time comes, fight against him."

After taking in that information, William spoke. "Which would be the best option?"

"To be honest, I don't know." It seemed I really didn't know the answer to any of his questions, "But getting my Lord angry is NOT good. Seriously. That is the last thing you could possibly want."

"So," he sat down on my bed, looking down at his shoes, "You're telling me that I can't get him angry?" I nodded, "But I couldn't give her to him. No way. I love her too much for that. I can't give up on her."

He lifted himself up and went towards the door. "Okay. Look, thanks for the help. And… sorry about that" he added, nodding towards the wall where he had pushed me against.

"Oh, that's okay. You had every right to be angry with me. So you know what you're doing?"

He smiled, "Yeah. I think so." And then he turned the doorknob and stepped out the door.

"Oh, and William?" I called.

He poked his head back through the doorway, "Yes?"

"Don't do anything stupid."

**-&-**

The wind was whipping my face. The clouds above me were grey, and the rain was threatening to fall. Underneath the palms of my hand I could feel the blades of grass, tickling the soft skin there. All over the valley, the grass was being pushed into unique patterns due to the strong gales. The rolling hills on either side of me, although had the same structure, were completely different. On one side, there were blue skies and beams of light. Flowers blossomed and the castle made everything look like a fairytale.

And then there was the other side. Dark clouds covered the area, getting darker towards the centre – where the intimidating castle stood, with its large, medieval-style stones and archways and looming towers.

On one side of me was the Fairytale Castle; on the other side was the Haunted House.

It just so happened that I lived on the Haunted House side. Great, huh?

The place that had changed me into some one I had known to a complete stranger.

That was why I liked to stay here, in The Valley. No one lived here. It was merely a void between the two cities.

I came here to think. To get away from whatever had been bothering me. And the main thing on my mind at the moment, was Isabelle.

William was right. How _could_ I have done that? I had definitely betrayed their trust. Right from the start, I had promised to help them, to keep them safe, away from the demon – my Lord.

But it wasn't the demon they should have been worried about. No, it was me.

As much as I wanted to deny it – it was my fault. I may have been asked to do it, but I still went through with it.

Her screams of agony were still haunting me. But the scary thing was… they were thrilling me as well.

With all that adrenaline rushing through me, I couldn't stop what I was doing. It wasn't until the last moment, where I had a choice to kill or save her, that I had suddenly realised what I was doing.

Where I was now… with the demons… With _him_.

He made me into a monster. Into one of _them_. One of the people I had promised myself not to become.

They were vile, murderous creatures. Torturing for fun. Thrilled by the sight of their victims being in pain.

But… maybe it was _supposed _to happen. It was actually quite surprising that, after seven years of living with them, that I hadn't become one earlier. But now I had finally turned into the monster I was destined to become.

I didn't want to be like this.

I HATED it.

And it tore me up inside that not only did I break the promise I had given to William and Isabelle and hurt them, but I had also broken the promise I had given to _myself_ and had become a demon like the people I lived with.

I mean, just look at my outburst with William earlier. That was certainly demonic behaviour. Hell, and I had also ENJOYED that.

First, I was sad. Upset that I had turned into a vile creature. But now…

Now I was angry. _More_ than angry. I was _furious_. If it wasn't for that STUPID demon, making me DO that to Isabelle, making me become the ONE THING I hadn't want to become…

Suddenly, the wind picked up. The trees were swaying and the leaves were being blown off. Above me, the grey clouds were turning darker and small droplets of water were falling from the sky. Usually, in The Valley, it wouldn't really rain. Just remain neutral. But I guess the balance between the two kingdoms wasn't quite right. It was probably due to my actions…

The rain was getting heavier, and I decided to head back. I was already slightly damp, and I didn't really want to get completely sodden.

I pictured my room at the castle, and dematerialised.

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**It was short, but it was the first chapter. The following may be longer. Well, hopefully.**

**Most of the things will be explained next chapter, but if you do have any questions, please ask.**

**Please let me know what you think, and review!**


	2. Dinner

**Wow, I'm on to chapter two. That's cool. I had some difficulty writing this chapter, so all reviews will be appreciated!**

**PLEASE READ: The ending of chapter one has been changed, so it flows into this one. It's not _that_ important to read, but you may as well read it anyway. It's only the last paragraph or so. It was changed a few days ago, so most of you have probably read it already.  
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**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is most likely from the Mediator series, by Meg Cabot.**

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Chapter II**

_The sun was setting, making everything around us have an orange glow. We were sitting at the edge of a rock, dangling our feet over the edge, above a patch of flowers. Everything was peaceful. The only noise you could hear was the sound of the birds singing. _

_I looked to my left. He was looking at the sun, just like I had been doing. The glow was making him look even more handsome. He noticed me staring, and looked down at me. A smile crept onto his face, and his eyes twinkled. _

"_Yes, Susannah?" His voice shook me out of my reverie, and I realised that I had been staring at him for quite some time. I blushed in embarrassment, while he just chuckled in amusement._

"_Oh, nothing. I was just… thinking."_

"_Thinking, Susannah?" he said, eyebrows raised slightly. "Of what?"_

"_Just... you know. Things." I couldn't seem to form a proper sentence, and my sheer stupidity caused me to blush._

"_Like…?" He was grinning, trying to hold in the laughter._

_Well, at least he was _trying_ to be polite._

_I looked away, back to the setting sun. It had almost fully set by now, and you could see the stars trying to shine through. This day had been so perfect… I didn't want it to end. _

_We had spent all day together. Every moment was fun, and I constantly had a smile on my face. Especially since I was sharing it with him._

"_Jesse, do you think we'll be together forever?" I asked him, turning my direction towards him._

_He looked straight into my eyes, as if he was trying to work out what was going on in my head. I didn't know whether I was imagining it or not – I hope I _was_ imagining it – but I saw his smile fault a little and he hesitated his answer._

"_I hope so, querida."_

_Happy with that answer, I placed the last strawberry from my bowl into my mouth. The strawberries were delicious. They were sweet, juicy and succulent. I noticed that Jesse's gaze seemed to follow the strawberry to my mouth, and he was now fixated on my lips._

_Interesting…_

_Taking the opportunity, I kissed him._

_He was shocked at first, but soon reciprocated my actions. After a while, he broke off and looked into my eyes._

"_Te amo, querida."_

_I didn't know all that much Spanish, but I certainly knew what those three words meant. And I was never tired of hearing them._

"_I love you too, Jesse."_

I opened my eyes and sat up.

Looking around the room, I noticed that it must have been quite late in the morning. The sun's rays were beating down upon my bed, through the gaps in the curtains.

What had that dream been about? I hadn't had a dream about Jesse for at least a couple of months.

I stared towards the ceiling. I could never get back to sleep after a dream like that. Even if it was late at night. Memories of Jesse and what I had rushed through my mind, and I couldn't relax. Even after seven years, I couldn't get him out of my head. And trust me, I had tried.

There was a knock at my door, and I quickly got out of bed and made sure I was decent. I allowed whoever it was to come in, and the door opened.

"Good morning, Miss Susannah. I'm glad you're awake, the Lord wants to meet you for lunch in an hour, and we have to get you looking your best."

I groaned. I really didn't want to talk to him. I hadn't done so since… that incident, and I wasn't planning on it. But I guess I had to face the music sometime, so I reluctantly agreed to get ready and went over to my wardrobe.

The maid opened the doors, and helped me pick out a dress.

There wasn't a whole lot of choice, though.

There was black…

Or black…

Or black…

Or, if I really wanted, a black dress with some deep red, purple or even silver as decoration.

Great.

I chose a black one.

After about forty-five minutes, I was finished. My hair had been placed into a bun on top of my head, with a few ringlets left hanging down. The dress I had chosen hugged my figure perfectly, and flowed down to the floor. Along with the silver and emerald jewellery – "Matches your eyes, miss" -, I looked quite nice.

In fact, I looked beautiful.

I hated it.

I made my way down the main staircase, and towards the dining hall. It was time to have lunch with the demon.

**-&-**

"You're late, Susannah."

I walked to my chair, opposite him, and sat down.

"So I am." I replied. I may have been fifteen minutes early for getting ready, but it didn't mean I was early turning up at the dining hall. I took a few detours on the way. What? I was trying to prolong coming into contact with him.

Trying to avoid any eye contact, I looked at the table. Silver trays mounded with food covered the entire table. Jeez, there was only the two of us.

We started eating in an awkward manner. Well, I'm not sure how he was feeling, but I was extremely uncomfortable. Not only was I having to be in the same room as the guy I hated with every fibre of my being, I was wearing a corset so tight I could barely breathe.

After a while, I noticed that he was staring at me intently. I looked up and, for the first time in a couple of days, I made eye contact.

His cold eyes were unreadable, as per usual. But there was definitely _something_, some sort of emotion lurking there. I just couldn't figure out what it was. But it was very unnerving. I looked away, and went back to eating.

"I wanted to talk to you." He said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" I said, asking for him to continue. To be honest, I didn't care what he had to say. I just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"I heard you had a little chat with William."

I looked up at that. So I guess one of the maids had heard. _Damn_.

"Well, yes, he came and spoke to me. So what?"

"Did he find out that it was you?"

I looked back down at my plate, pushing the food around with my fork. I didn't want to answer his question. In fact, I didn't want to talk about it at all. I especially didn't want to talk about Will. I didn't want to involve him in the situation. Well, no more than he already was.

Paul was sitting back in his chair, arms folded. He was waiting for an answer. An answer that would never come.

After about five minutes of complete silence – other than the scraping of my cutlery, that is – he finally got the gist, and carried on talking.

"Why do you keep protecting them?"

That was the question I knew had been coming. And the question I had been dreading the most. Because I honestly did not know the answer.

"You know, it's a very dangerous game you're playing," he continued, not even waiting for the answer. "Keeping me away from what I want… You should know more than anyone that that causes," he paused, as if looking for the right words, "Serious consequences."

I knew what he was getting at. But I wasn't playing a _game_; I wasn't keeping him from what he wanted. I was just giving them advice.

I voiced this, but he just laughed.

"And why would you want to give them advice? Why would you want to help them?" he leaned forward in his chair, so his face was closer to me, "Or is it that you don't want her to be in the same situation you were in seven years ago? Is it that you don't want her to be taken away from the person she loves?"

Memories were flooding in, and it felt like my head was going to explode. All the emotions… Confusion, hurt, anger…

_Love…_

Why was he doing this? To me? To _her?_

"God, lay off!" I said, pushing him away so he was back in his chair, "She's innocent, she doesn't deserve this! Why can't you just leave her alone? I mean, you say I don't want her to be taken away from someone she loves, but why do you WANT her to? Why are you DOING this?"

His eyes were dark and cold. Their gaze was so intense; it was as if they were piercing through me. But yet his facial expression remained blank.

"It's not that you want to save _her_ though, is it? You just don't want to be pushed aside." He said harshly.

"_What?_" He wasn't making any sense. _Didn't want to be pushed aside?_ What the hell was he on about?

"Oh, come one, Suze. Don't pretend that you don't know."

"Don't pretend I don't know WHAT? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE ON ABOUT!"

"You know that if I get Isabelle, you'll be pushed aside. You won't be needed anymore. All my attention would go towards Izzy, and you won't be able to do a thing about it. That's why you don't want me to have her. Because then I can't have _you_."

Oh my God… This guy was crazy.

"Face it, Suze," he continued, "You want me. What would you do if I didn't want _you?_"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was seriously delusional.

"Paul, what the hell are you on about? I don't want you. I never have. You took away the one thing I loved, and you think that I want you? What, do you think I love you as well? ARE YOU CRAZY?" I stood up, pushing my chair back, "I want to save Isabelle because she doesn't deserve this! Not because I'll get pushed aside! You want to know what I'd do if you didn't want me? Do you! I'd leave this place and go back to WHERE I WANT TO BE, BEFORE YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!"

"Suze, you don't want to go back there." He replied, calmly.

"DON'T WANT TO GO BACK THERE?"

"Would you stop repeating everything I say? You're starting to sound like a parrot."

"OH MY _GOD_, YOU ARE THE MOST INFURIATING PERSON I'VE EVER MET! NO, PAUL, I DON'T LOVE YOU. I HATE YOU WITH EVERY FIBRE OF MY BEING!"

"Sit down." Paul said, firmly. He was angry. Oh God… What had I done?

I sat back down, gripped the sides of the chair and glared down at my plate.

"You won't be able to protect her any longer. She's going to be found sooner than you think. And it's not her you should be worried about. It's you. Because once I have her, I can do whatever I want with you. And don't expect that to be anything good." He stood up and stormed out the door, leaving my speechless.

Holy crap… now I was in trouble, too. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut? Why couldn't I just control my anger?

Then again, it wasn't really my fault that I had shouted at him. The words he had said… he brought everything back home. Everything that happened seven years ago, that I had pushed to the back of my memories was being brought forward again.

Was what he was saying even true? I mean, of course I wanted to protect her. But maybe it WAS because I didn't want her to be in the same situation I was in. I felt empathetic towards her, and it was as if she was some sort of charity case.

Or maybe… maybe what Paul was saying, about me being pushed aside, was true as well. You would think that after what he had put me through, I would have WANTED to be left alone and have some other girl take my place. But for some very strange reason, I didn't want to be replaced. I didn't want to be forgotten.

It certainly wasn't because I loved him. No, it couldn't be that.

… Could it?

I stood up and walked out of the dining hall. I felt… numb, in a way. I couldn't quite process what had just happened. I was confused about all my feelings and couldn't decide whether what Paul was saying was true or not.

I couldn't be in love with him. No _way_.

He was a demon. He loved watching people get hurt. Just look at what he was doing to Isabelle. What he did to _me_.

No. Love was certainly out of the question.

_Then why was I so scared about what he would do to me if he got Isabelle?_

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**Meh, didn't like that chapter. I couldn't seem to get Paul's character right. Please tell me what you think! The more reviews, the quicker I'll update.**

**Suze  
_x_o**


	3. The Screen

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise from the Mediator series belongs to Meg Cabot.**

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Chapter III**

It had been a few days since I had last seen Paul. I had been trying my best to avoid contact, and I had done quite well. It seemed that he was busy with some important business at the moment, so that must have helped, I guess.

I hadn't seen William or Isabelle, either. I wasn't all that worried about them, to be honest. I had given Will some decisions and advice, but he was the one in control. It appeared that he had chosen to hide Isabelle and wait for Paul to get bored or something.

Which was more than okay for me. They were far away from here, and that meant that Paul couldn't reach them. Because Paul couldn't leave the kingdom, unless he went to The Valley. But he only really went there to talk to Jes-

People. That he needed to talk to.

But there was something nagging me… Something at the back of my mind…

William and Isabelle _would_ be found. As much as I tried to convince my self otherwise, it was true. Paul would find a way of getting them, even if he didn't exactly do it himself. I mean, how many people had he got working for him? He had basically the whole kingdom with him, to help him when he needed it.

And the demons…

Well, let's just say that if they found her, she would be far worse off.

Not only will the other demons want to have… _fun_ with her, but also Paul wouldn't be too pleased. And make it even worse for her than it was already going to be…

I needed to find them. Tell them that the consequences could be far worse.

But how could I find them? They could have gone ANYWHERE. I wouldn't even know where to start.

Plus the fact that if I were seen helping them, I would be punished as well. I was already in some trouble about the fact that I even TALKED to William, imagine what would happen if I was seen helping them both?

I looked through my window. Rain was pelting down and the wind was causing my curtains to fly. I quickly ran up, and closed the latch. The wind may have stopped, but the sound certainly hadn't. The clouds above the castle, which were once a light grey, were twirling and getting darker by the second. Why was it raining? I mean, that may sound slightly stupid, but seriously. It only rained when Paul was mad about something.

This didn't look good. This didn't look good at all.

I opened my door and went out into the corridor. The door that I had just opened banged behind me.

And everything was eerily silent. Due to that fact that there were no windows in the hallway, the rain could not be heard. No one was around, either. I couldn't hear any footsteps or talking.

I couldn't hear anything.

Slightly spooked, I continued down the hall. It was quite a way from my room to the main hall, where the Lord's throne was – fortunately. Or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it.

After a while, the sound of people became louder. I could hear mutterings and movement just down the hall.

And then I saw someone. Someone with dark hair and hazel eyes…

Huh. I guess I didn't need to look for him after all.

He had found me.

"Good afternoon, William."

"Oh, Susannah. I… I didn't expect you to be here."

I raised my eyebrow coolly. Didn't expect to be here? Um, _hello, _this is kind of where I LIVE.

Moron.

But instead of saying what I wanted to say – _"Of course I'm here. I LIVE here, IDIOT." _ - I replied with a, "I could say the same for you."

He looked uneasy. Something had happened. Something had DEFINITELY happened. Why else would he be down here?

"Why are you here?" I asked, "Where's Isabelle?"

This seemed to make his edginess even worse. If that was even possible. Which just proved me right. Something had happened. And, more specifically, something had happened to Isabelle.

Oh, God.

"What have you done?" I asked him hotly, "What happened? You didn't… Oh, God, you didn't speak to Paul, did you?"

The uneasy and nervous expression on his face suddenly turned to confusion.

"Paul? Who the hell's _Paul_?"

What? How could he not know who Paul was? Oh, right. He didn't know Paul as Paul.

"The demon. My Lord." I stated, in answer to his question.

And then his confused expression turned into one of nervousness, once again.

"Oh, right. Erm, yeah. I sort of… erm…" he stammered. God, why couldn't he just tell me? Wait; did he say that he HAD spoken to Paul?

"You spoke to Paul?" I asked him, bluntly. "You mean, you were in the same room as him? And… made communication?"

"Yes… But he had asked to see me and-"

"And you actually WENT TO SEE HIM? MY GOD, YOU'RE AN _IDIOT_."

He looked quite defensive after I said that. "I am NOT. Look, he asked to speak to me. What else was I going to do?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the _sensible_ option? As in, not speaking to him? Because now he knows that he can just ask for whatever he wants and you'll just GIVE it to him."

"I wouldn't give him Isabelle…" he said quietly.

I softened up to him. Hey, the guy was stressed out. The love of his life was under threat. A DEMON wanted to get hold of her.

"I know, Will, I know, I just… What did you say to him?" I directed him down the hall, away from Paul. It just so happened to be the same direction to my bedroom, but whatever.

"Well, he asked me where Isabelle was. But I didn't tell him. I mean, I couldn't do THAT. He kept on pressurising me, but I still wouldn't tell him. And then he got angry" – so THAT'S why it had started to rain – "and said…" he looked down to the ground, and I could see he was affected by whatever Paul had said to him, "He said that… that if I didn't give in to him sometime soon, he would send people out to look for her. He would find her. And then she would be much worse off, and… God, I don't know what to do..."

There was something in my throat. There was also a certain tingling in my nose, meaning that tears were going to flow sometime soon. I sniffled, and tried to hold them back.

"Oh, William," I said, "You've just got to… you've just got to fight back, somehow. I can't really help you, exactly, but you can't give Isabelle to him. Well, you could, but I doubt you'd want to."

He sighed. He was obviously troubled by this – well, you would be too – and wasn't sure what he could do.

"William. Go to her. Stay with her as much as you can. I'll be there when the time comes. I promise. Just don't let Isabelle out of your sight, and stay away from any person that looks like a demon. Don't trust anyone out there."

He nodded, and left the kingdom. I watched as he left in a carriage, as the rain was just calming down.

Well, now I knew that they would be safe for a little while longer.

I hoped.

**-&-**

After the rain had finally stopped and the clouds had cleared up – back to their normal, dull grey – I decided to speak to Paul.

It seemed that I couldn't ignore him for any longer.

Dammit.

I made my way back to the main hall, to find that he wasn't even there. I was told that he had gone to another room, in the left tower.

After walking up the many flights of stairs – 183, I counted – I heard a noise. It… well, it sounded just like Isabelle.

Surely William hadn't hid her in there. That would be the most stupid thing he has ever done.

Oh, God… Paul was up here.

With my heart beating fast, I quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Everything was black, apart from a bit of light streaming through from somewhere.

I know it sounds strange, but I had a feeling there was a secret door.

I had another feeling that Paul was through there, too.

But why could I hear Isabelle's voice?

I walked across the room, towards the light. Being careful that I wasn't standing on anything – I couldn't see a _thing_, due to the darkness – as I went. I opened the secret door – quietly, again – and peeked inside.

This room was dark as well. Apart from a source of light that was coming from somewhere behind a chair. The only chair in the room, it seemed. Although I wasn't too sure, seeing as I couldn't actually SEE the rest of the room.

"Hello Susannah."

I gasped. Holy crap.

"What are you trying to do, scare me half to death?" I held my hand on my chest while trying to calm my racing heart. But it seemed that my heart wasn't beating unusually fast because of the shock.

He chuckled, and turned his chair around, so he was facing me. Not that I could see him anyway.

"So, Suze, any reason you're here?"

"I just, you know, wanted to talk to you. I was told you'd be up here somewhere. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"None of your business," Paul answered quickly, "What did you want to talk about? Make it quick, I'm slightly busy."

Fine. So I walk up 183 steps, just to be told that he was too busy anyway.

That was just _great_.

"What are you doing about Isabelle? I haven't heard about her for awhile," I was lying, but I was hoping he wouldn't notice that, "And I was wondering whether you've got bored of her or something."

"Sorry, I haven't gotten bored of her. I still want her. I'm just waiting to see what William does. It's fun seeing him suffer."

I snorted. Unladylike, I know, but come on. "Oh, I forgot. Of course you'd want to do that. You have no feelings or emotion, after all."

"Suze, Suze, Suze… You're a demon. I know it, you know it. There's no pretending you don't enjoy seeing it just as much as I do."

"I am not. A demon."

"You live in the demon's kingdom and work for me, the Lord here, do you not?"

"Well yeah, because of YOU!" I shouted. Then, wanting to change the subject – because I knew exactly where he wanted to go with this – I said, "What are you doing here, anyway? What are you hiding? Where's the light coming from?"

He WAS hiding something. He had also been extremely – and very unusually – quick to say that it was none of my business. Which, I guess, it wasn't. But he was annoying me, so I thought I'd annoy him, too.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes." I replied, shortly.

He moved the chair, to reveal a screen. On it, were some figures and a house.

I gasped.

It was Isabelle.

"How… How did you…what-?"

"-It's good, isn't it?" He interrupted, "It shows me where she is and as long as someone recognises the place, I can send out people to get her. So you see, I have no trouble finding her at all. I can get her whenever I like. I'm just waiting for the most opportune moment." With the light of the screen, I could see that Paul was smirking.

"But… why? Why wait?"

"Like I said… I'm waiting for the most opportune moment."

I sighed. He was being annoying. Not only that, but he was starting to freak me out.

I mean, he had Isabelle on a screen in front of him.

He knew exactly where she was.

And I had told William that he would be safe as long as he kept out of the way.

No…

"Suze? Suze? What -? Oh, God, you're not crying, are you?" He came towards me, but I backed away. I lifted my hands to my face, and realised that there was wetness on my cheeks. I angrily wiped away the tears with the back of my hand, and faced him once again.

"Leave them alone." I said, but my voice wavered, so it didn't really have quite the menacing affect that I had wanted it to.

"And why would I want to do that, Suze? So you can have me all to yourself?"

"What is your obsession with that? I. Don't. Want. You."

He laughed. "It's okay Suze, really. I'm okay with it. MORE than okay with it. Hey, maybe the three of us could-"

"-PAUL! I DON'T WANT YOU, OKAY?" I interrupted. Well, I really didn't want him finishing his sentence.

Then something dawned on me. Causing my hands to shake and my eyes to widen.

"Paul… you… You can see where Isabelle is…"

He gave me a weird look. "Yes, Suze. Have you just figured it out? I did tell you."

"No, I mean, did you… Did you know where I was?"

He realised what I was on about, and said, "Yes, I did. I knew exactly where you were. The both of you."

The tears were spilling again. All that time… all that time I had run and hid, but it was pointless. He knew where I was all along.

And now Isabelle was in the same situation.

"And you just… you waited? Until… that moment?"

"Well, my plan worked, didn't it? I didn't even have to look for you." He walked towards his chair, and sat down, still facing me.

"So you're waiting for William?"

"I guess. William is slightly different from your Jesse though, isn't he?"

"He's not my Jesse anymore." I said quietly, facing the floor.

"Why do you want her, anyway?" I asked, my voice stronger, "She's not really your type. In fact, she's a bit of a wimp. I thought you liked a challenge."

"She's interesting. True, not as interesting as you, but still. I mean, you're different."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good. Definitely good." Was he complementing me here?

"There's a ball in a few days. Have you got a dress for it?" He said, changing the subject so dramatically I was almost speechless.

"Huh? Oh, is there? I'll have to find something. Erm, yeah. I'll go… Yeah…" I said, oh so smoothly.

I walked out of the rooms and down the tower.

Paul was acting strangely… I mean, yes, he's Paul, but he was acting even more strange than usual.

Like there was something he didn't want me to know. Or see.

And I was about to find out what that was.

**

* * *

**

**I kind of rushed the end of this so I could get it posted today, so please tell me if it's still okay.**

**I may not get chapter four up for a while, because I'm going on holiday for a week this Monday. I MAY be able to write and post it before I go, but I'm just warning you just in case.**

**Please review!**

**Suze  
_x_o**


	4. The Ball

"_And you see it's hard for me to breathe,_  
_When I get all worked up with these feelings._"

**- Goodbye Waves & Driveways, The Rocket Summer**

* * *

**Chapter IV**

There hadn't been a ball for quite a while. In fact, why one was being held now was puzzling. I mean, the two kingdoms weren't exactly getting on. And people from both kingdoms would be there, like there always was. Not that I've been to many.

But despite all the disruptions, the ball was still going to happen.

You would think that I would look forward to them. It was finally a chance to talk to a variety of people, and I could dress up and actually stay away from Paul by mingling with the crowd. But I hated them. Because the only reason I was ever invited was when Paul wanted to show me off, and think that I was his possession. Which I was, in a way. Not that I liked to think about it that much.

All evening I have to watch what I say. Paul would probably prefer it if I didn't talk at all, since then there was no chance of me letting slip of any of his plans or any of the secrets kept at the kingdom.

So all in all, the evening is extremely boring for me.

I never meet anyone interesting there, either. I mean, they're all extremely wealthy and have tremendous power. And the only people who _are_ important are males. The only females you will ever meet would have come because of their husband or whatever. Never because it's actually _them_ who are important.

Which I find extremely sexist. It has been like that for hundreds of years, and nobody even thinks that it's wrong, and that we need a change. In fact, it's most likely because they wouldn't want to ask Paul or someone of that nature for it.

I doubt that even if I did ask Paul for a change, he'd do anything about it. He probably wouldn't listen.

After entering the hall, I was introduced to a few people – most people from other areas (even the ones close to where I live) have never seen me. I rarely came to things like this. I was never really necessary, and only came to the minor ones that we had just for our kingdom.

Why I was here now, I had no idea.

I was actually quite nervous about coming. After the incident with Isabelle, I wasn't sure what people would think of me. I mean, I had sorted it out with William, but I had no idea about anyone else.

The people from the other side would think I was just another evil demon. That I had been there so long, I had practically been transformed. They would probably hate me for the fact that I had almost killed one of their people.

And the demons would hate me because I HADN'T killed her.

So I looked bad to both sides.

Which was… great.

I looked around the hall, trying to find anyone who looked at least slightly interesting.

And found absolutely no one.

But what I did find was that I was in probably the largest hall on the earth.

I'm serious. It was gigantic.

There were these enormous chandeliers made of crystal hanging from the highly decorated ceiling, and some red and gold satin drapes hanging in front of the windows. Everything was done to perfection, and the whole scene oozed authority.

People were gathering around refreshment tables and making polite conversation. But most of the people were in the centre of the room, dancing to the music playing.

After seeing the direction of my gaze, Paul asked, "Would you like to dance?"

Without even waiting for an answer, he took my hand and led me to the centre of the room.

A few minutes later, he lowered his head and whispered into my ear, "You could at least _pretend_ to be enjoying yourself."

"Oh, come ON, Paul," I whispered back, "You _know_ I hate these things. Why did you bring me here, anyway?"

"Well, I thought you might as well get out for a bit and have some fun."

"Fun? You call this FUN? This is not fun, Paul. This is the complete _opposite_ of fun." I hissed.

"Suze, Suze, Suze. Just relax. You'll enjoy it more."

I made a disapproving noise, and turned my face away from him, as if looking through the crowds.

"What's so bad about it, anyway?" he asked, oblivious to the fact that I was trying to ignore him.

Trying. But failing. Miserably.

"They're just… boring. Listening to a bunch of old people go on about politics and stuff… I'm sorry, but that bores the shit out of me."

He laughed, and we continued to dance. "They're alright. Do you even listen to them anyway?" he asked.

"… No." I answered. He was about to say something, but I continued, "But that's not the point. God, why did I have to come to THIS one?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone hates me at the moment."

Paul looked amused. "And why would 'everyone' hate you?"

"Paul. Come on. Use your brain. Surely you have one somewhere in that big head of yours."

Paul laughed again, and said, "Alright, my little Susie. Isabelle. You think everyone hates you because of that. But that is where you're wrong. Nobody hates you."

"Yes they do! Hey, don't call me Susie. I'm not _yours_, either. I m-LITTLE! I AM NOT LITTLE." I shouted, stepping away from him.

"Okay, okay, okay." He said, while suppressing a laugh, "You're not little. Just unuasually... _not tall._ You might want to keep your voice down, by the way. You've got an audience."

I looked around, and I noticed that I few groups of people were staring at me.

Huh.

I blushed, and turned back to Paul. He was obviously highly amused by what had happened.

The people who were staring turned back to their conversations, and Paul and I went back to dancing.

"So who is this 'they'?" he asked me.

"Huh?"

"You said 'they' hate you. Who's 'they'?"

"Oh. Just… Everyone. Think about it. They're either going to be mad that I almost killed her, or mad that I didn't." Did that even make sense?

"Not everyone."

"Well _most _people then."

"Only some." He said.

"That makes me feel so much better…"

He sighed, and held me tighter. It was strange. For some weird reason, I felt quite… comfortable in his arms.

"Suze, I…" he started.

"Yes?"

He was looking slightly above my shoulder, and over the crowds of people. I suspected that someone had just entered. Someone he didn't really want to be here.

I turned around to see who it was, but Paul put his hand on the side of my face and turned me back before I could see.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked.

"No."

He was starting to look impatient. Maybe the person had seen him… Maybe he was approaching.

Maybe it was a SHE.

"Look, come on." He tried to drag me away, but I wasn't having any of it.

"Who are you trying to run from?"

"Nobody." He said, now starting to look slightly panicked. This was actually starting to freak me out a little. Paul never really panicked. At all. He always kept his cool. Saying that, it also made me laugh.

"Come on, who is it?" I said, laughing.

But my laughter soon faded away once I turned to see who it was.

I froze. My face went pale and I went numb.

He noticed me, too. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

And then he started making his way towards me.

Paul grabbed my arm. "Suze, come on-"

"Susannah."

I looked up. Into those deep, chocolate-y eyes of his… The ones I had missed so much…

"Jesse. So nice to see you." Paul said, sarcastically. The panicked expression had been wiped clear off his face, and replaced with his smirk.

"Paul." He nodded politely to Paul, and then turned his attention back to me.

The song that was currently playing was brought to an end, and a new one was about to start.

"Susannah… May I have this dance?" Jesse asked.

"I… I…" FORM A SENTENCE, DAMMIT! "Sure… I'd love to." I finally managed to choke out.

With one last turn to Paul – who was looking extremely annoyed – I followed Jesse to another area in the hall.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Susannah." He said, once we'd started dancing.

"I could say the same to you too, Jesse."

But the truth was, I had actually half-expected him to be here. It was a major event. Of COURSE he'd be here. And who else would Paul try to drag me away from?

Even though. I couldn't see why I wasn't able to see Jesse. I mean, if Paul was allowed to have Isabelle, I was allowed to have Jesse.

I rested my head on his shoulder while we swayed to the music. It was so peaceful. And for the first time in ages, I felt relaxed and at ease.

"You look beautiful… You've changed a bit, too…" he said, looking down at my attire. I was wearing my emerald green dress, with black lace. My hair was curled neatly, and fell around my shoulders.

He had changed quite a lot since the last time I had seen him. He looked more mature – not that he didn't before – and even more muscular. When I had first met him, he looked dangerous. Then after getting to know and love him, I realised how soft he could be. How gentle and caring he was.

So although his figure loomed over mine and made me feel vulnerable, I could still see the kindness in his eyes.

"I missed you, _querida_." He mumbled into my hair.

_Querida_… I hadn't been called that for more than seven years…

And all those happy memories were flooding back… The times where it was just Jesse and I. Alone. With not a care in the world.

I had been so happy back then… And then Paul had just taken it away.

"I missed you too." I replied, "I missed you so much…" I reached up and cupped his cheek in my hand. He was staring so intently into my eyes, as if he was reading me. He was always able to do that.

The moment was cut short, though, when Paul returned.

"Susannah. Someone wants to meet you. Excuse us, Jesse." And with that, he grabbed my arm and led me across the room.

I looked back to where Jesse was, but he had already disappeared into the crowd.

"Paul." He continued to walk, facing straight ahead. "_Paul_." I took his arm and turned him around to face me.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked, hotly.

"What was what about?"

"That!"

"Someone wants to speak to you. I didn't want to keep them waiting." He answered coolly.

"Who could POSSIBLY want to speak to me, Paul? Hardly anyone in this room even knows me!"

He turned back around, and continued to make his way through the crowd.

"For God's sake, Paul, WHAT is WRONG with you!" I shouted at him. Well, as loudly as I could without too many people hearing.

"What's wrong with ME?" he said, while staring intently at me, "What is wrong with YOU?"

"Me? What did _I_ do?"

"You go back to him as if he hasn't DONE anything to you!"

"What? What are you on about? He's done far less harm to me, Paul, than what YOU'VE done."

He laughed, and hissed into my ear, "Oh really? If I remember correctly, Suze, it was HIM that gave you to me. Willingly."

"Shut up." I said, but there was a waver in my voice.

"He did it for the 'good of his kingdom', remember?" he continued, more fiercely this time. "Think about it, Suze. He cared about his kingdom more than he cared about YOU. That's true love there, Suze. No, really. But tell me, did it hurt? Did it hurt knowing that the person you _loved_ didn't even try to save you?"

My face was pale, and my hands were shaking. He was bringing it all home…

He knew he was right. And what was worse, he knew that I knew it too.

I gathered up all my strength and pushed him away. Tears were brimming behind my eyes, and I could feel my nose tickling.

Before the tears had a chance to fall, I ran out of the room and out into the small garden out the back.

He always felt like reminding me of why I was living in the kingdom. Why Paul had power over me. He knew it hurt, and that's why he kept doing it. He wanted some sort of reaction, and he got it every time.

Out in the garden was a small birdbath. Large candles around the edge of the patio softly lit it up. On both sides of me were trees, leading out onto the forests that crept up the hills. In front of me, the ground just behind the bird pool made a sudden dip into a valley. You could see just beyond one of the hills the moon. It shone brightly and lit up the valley beautifully. I'd never seen The Valley like this… I'd never been able to leave the kingdom at night, and the small window in my bedroom looked out over the dingy courtyards of the kingdom.

This was unlike anything I had really seen before… It was so beautiful and mystical…

The only sound you could hear was the hum of the music coming from inside, and a slight buzz of conversation. Out here, apart from the occasional cricket or owl, there was nothing.

I looked into the birdbath. I could see my reflection quite clearly. Tears were streaming down my face, my eyes looked red and puffy and my hair had gone slightly frizzy.

All in all: I looked a mess.

I heard the creak of the door, and looked in the water to see the reflection of someone else.

"Don't let him get to you, Susannah." He said.

"I try, Jesse, I really do. But I just can't help it." I turned to face him. He was leaning against the closed door, with a concerned expression on his face. When he saw I was crying, he quickly stood up straight and came towards me.

He lifted up his hand, and wiped the tears away with his thumb.

"Oh, Susannah…" He brought me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my head.

I sniffled, "It's just-" Sniff, "He usually doesn't-" Sniff, "Get to me that much, it just-" Sniff, "What he said… It hurt…"

I sobbed into his shoulder, and Jesse hugged me more tightly.

He brought me along to one of the stone benches, and sat me down. He sat next to me, with his arm around my shoulder.

After I calmed down and the tears were gone, he started talking again.

"I heard what happened with Isabelle."

I snorted, "Ergh. So now you hate me, too?"

"Hate you? I'd never hate you, Susannah. What you did may have been a terrible thing, _querida_, but at least you stopped before it got out of hand. I definitely do not hate you."

I sighed, and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I didn't want to do it. He MADE me. I didn't want to be in the same mess Isabelle and William was in, so I did. Everyone at the kingdom is mad at me because I didn't kill her. But…" I looked out over the valley, "How COULD I? I couldn't just KILL someone. After all, I had told them I would help them as much as I could. If I just turned around and KILLED her, an innocent girl… I couldn't do that Jesse…"

"I know. I know, Susannah." He brushed a lock of hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"I had PROMISED them, Jesse. I PROMISED to help them, and LOOK WHAT I DID!" I stood up, and started pacing the patio. "I HURT her! And not only that, but I hurt myself! I broke my promise. I turned into another one of THEM!"

Jesse stood up, and stopped me from pacing. He grabbed my face and made me stare into his eyes.

"Susannah. You will NEVER be one of them."

"But I AM, Jesse! I _AM!_ I HURT her. I hurt an innocent person!"

There was a flash of light, and a clap of thunder. The wind had picked up and was tossing my hair so it flew into my face. The trees were swaying, and the light from the moon died out when dark clouds moved in front of it.

"You did it, Susannah, because you had to." Jesse replied, calmly.

"No! No, I did it for MYSELF! So _I_ wouldn't get hurt! I was selfish! I…" Another sob broke out of me, even worse than it was before, "I hate what I've become…"

My hands covered my face, so he couldn't see the tears. But I needn't have worried. He soon hugged me fiercely, so my face was buried in his chest.

"Susannah, you will never be a demon. I love you too much for that to happen."

I looked up at that. He… loved me?

Still? After what had happened? Even though, like Paul said, he gave me to a DEMON?

I should have been angry with him. I should have.

But the anger died away once his lips came down upon mine.

**

* * *

Sorry about the delay. I lost inspiration and was really busy to just sit down and attempt to write it.**

**A bit of Jesse for you there. Hope you liked. (",)  
**

**Please review!**

**Suze  
xo**


	5. Abigail

**Sorry for the incredibly late update.**

**Oh, and the bits in italics are a kinda flashback thing… but should hopefully be slightly obvious.**

**Sorry in advance for any mistakes... haven't had time to edit it properly... I just wanted to finally POST it. **

**Disclaimer: Meg Cabot owns the characters. Everything else is mine. I… think…  
**

* * *

**Chapter V**

It was a good kiss. _More_ than a good kiss. It was so good, in fact, that I found myself kissing back.

I forgot everything that had happened. Everything that had happened between Paul and me not so long ago.

Because really, who wants to think, when you're being kissed like _that_?

But that's just the thing. I didn't want to think, but I found myself doing so anyway. I just could NOT get what Paul had said out of my mind. It was still ringing in my ears, reminding me of everything I had wanted to forget.

'_Did it hurt knowing that the person you _loved_ didn't even try to save you?'_

And it did. It hurt. Maybe because it was coming from Paul's lips, and the way he had said it. I mean, I had known that Jesse gave me to him. Paul reminded me of that fact quite regularly.

Jesse DID try to save me. We had ran and hid. Now I know that it was pointless, that Paul would have found me anyway – he had been watching the whole time, just as he's doing with Isabelle now. It was also pointless because Jesse gave in as soon as Paul threatened the kingdom.

He gave up.

After he had promised to keep me safe.

And he was here, now, telling me that he loved me, and then kissing me.

So what was I doing kissing back? He deserves to be hurt, just like I was.

But the way it _felt_… I couldn't stop. I hadn't been kissed like this in seven years…

I mean, Paul stole a few kisses from me now and then at the beginning of it all, but not now. He has other toys to play with. I know that. I'm happy about it, too: it means he has no reason to try to be with me.

He had the occasionally flirt, but he never went that far with me. He always stopped. Why? I have no idea. Being a demon, I'm surprised he's resisted his, er… _lustful urges_. But I guess his _toys_ at the kingdom kept him away.

I started thinking about Jesse. Had he been with anyone since I had gone? Surely he knew that I wasn't coming back. I couldn't.

Wouldn't I just be setting myself up for more heartbreak? I mean, I couldn't go back; I couldn't be with Jesse ever again. So kissing him now would just make it harder to say goodbye.

And what if Paul had seen us? He was already in a bad mood with me, and I really needed to stay on his good side until everything had calmed down a bit. Until the whole Isabelle thing was over.

No. This couldn't continue. Not just because I would get hurt - he would too. I know I thought that he deserved it, but he doesn't. Yes, he had sacrificed me for the kingdom, but he was _king_. It was his job. Millions of people's lives were at stake.

Besides, if it were my choice, I'd have probably sacrificed myself too. I'd feel so guilty had I been the reason a whole kingdom was ruined.

Sure, Jesse could have defended the kingdom, but Paul was powerful. He'd find a way. He always did.

So Jesse didn't deserve to get hurt. Which was going to happen had the kiss carried on.

I tore my lips from his, and took a step back.

"I… I'm sorry… I can't…" I said, trying to form an apology, but failing miserably.

My cheeks now resembled tomatoes, so I quickly ran off – well, as fast as I could with a dress – back into the hall, and merged into the crowd.

When I looked back, Jesse was gone.

**-&-**

There was a gentle pit-patter of rain on the window, and a dull light filled the room. I was sitting on my bed, with a scarlet silk cover draped over the lower half of my body. In my hands I held a mug of steaming hot chocolate that the maid had given me no longer than five minutes before. An aroma of rain and sweet chocolate lingered in the air, lightening my senses a little.

I slowly lifted my feet out of bed – careful that I didn't knock my hot chocolate – and walked towards my window. Below, the demons bustled about, and horse-drawn carriages tumbled by. The sky was grey, and the clouds were twirling, focusing on the large tower to my right: the centre of the city.

The tower was connected to the main castle, where I was. All the main, important rooms were in the tower, and it was where Paul spent most of his time. In there was the throne room, and then on the levels above, the sacrifice rooms. Those were the rooms that if you were sent to them, you wouldn't come back out.

I shuddered, and drank more hot chocolate to soothe me. My muscles were tense and I couldn't get the weird feeling from the pit of my stomach to go away.

What was it, anyway? Was it because of last night? If so, what part? The part where Paul and I had argued? The part where Jesse kissed me? Or was it just the fact that Isabelle might end up in one of those torture rooms to my right?

Would she end up there? Would Paul keep her, and send me there instead?

I simply didn't know. The thing about Paul that always worried me the most was that he was so unpredictable. No one ever knew what he was going to do next.

I looked over the horizon. Smoke was rising into the air from the occasional chimney, and there were thousands of houses. Well, when I say _houses_, they're really more of shacks. Apart from the main castle building, and the towers and buildings that came off it, or were in the grounds itself, everything else was just a mess.

Compared to the neat, solid stone walls of the castles, the shacks were like little wooden sheds – with the odd stone one here and there – piled next to each other. There wasn't much order in the set out, and huge clusters of them were crammed together, with narrow alleyways in between. Few of the houses had glass windows, and most looked as if they were falling to bits.

The whole place looked dull and dreary. Everything was grimy, and with the clouds and rain, it just made it look worse.

The shacks went for as far as the eye could see ahead of me. If I strained my neck and looked as far right as I could, I could just make out some bare mountains in the distance.

I had never actually visited the city. I had no need to. The castle was like a prison. I wasn't allowed out at night, I couldn't go outside the castle walls unless either Paul or a guard accompanied me. The only place I could really go on my own was The Valley, and most of the castle.

I looked down at my mug, and took a gulp.

And quickly spat it out.

I guess my random musings lasted longer than I thought, as the chocolate was now pretty cold and had even gotten a skin.

Ew…

Let me tell you: cold hot chocolate is NASTY.

Putting the mug down, I put on some half-decent clothes. Not really knowing where to head, I opened the door and sauntered down the seemingly never-ending hallways.

**-&-**

_The door clunked as I closed it behind me, and immediately I could smell the damp, musty aroma of the cell. A small ray of light shone through a little, letter-boxed shape window at the far side of the room. The walls were cold and mouldy, wet from where the pipes had been dripping. _

_I looked ahead of me towards the pipe in the middle of the room. And then down towards the figure, which slumped at the bottom of it._

"_Do what you want," he had said, "Just don't help her."_

_So I _was_ going to do what I wanted. I was free to do whatever I could – as long as it wasn't anything to help her. _

_I walked over to where she was, and crouched down so I was at her level. I grabbed her shoulders, and pushed her into an upright sitting position. I slammed her against the pipe, and her eyes snapped open._

_She looked scared, confused and weak. Her eyes – that were once a bright sapphire – now looked like murky saltwater, all the life drained out of them._

_Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. I held her chin between my thumb and forefinger, and looked her in the eyes._

"_Yes, Izzy?"_

_Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and she tried to shake her head to get rid of her thoughts. But I held her chin firmly, not letting her._

"_Where… What…" she tried to make some sort of sentence, but finally decided on what to ask, "Who are you?"_

"_Izzy," I said, putting my hand to my heart, with a mock-hurt expression on my face, "That's insulting. You mean you don't know who I am?"_

"_No…" she replied, her voice rusty and quiet, as if she hadn't used in quite a while. Which she hadn't, I guess._

"_Izzy, Izzy, Izzy…" I laughed humourlessly, "You should know. It's me. Your superwoman."_

_I thought that her previous expression was pretty confused. But compared to this one, it was pretty normal._

"What?"

"_It me, Suze! Here to save the day, yeah?"_

_Her face brightened up, and she seemed more alert. "Suze! Where… where am I?"_

"_Oh, no where in particular. To be honest, I'm not really sure myself. Well, isn't that dandy?"_

"_Look, Suze… you… you've got to get me out-"_

"_You see, Isabelle," I interrupted, ignoring whatever it was she cared to say, "You've been locked up in this old place, " I knocked the pipes with my fist, causing a loud KABOOM throughout the entire cell, "because a certain demon seems to have had his eye on you. Yes?"_

"_The… the demon? Put me in here? But-"_

"_Shhh," I put a finger to her lips, "Now listen to me, poppet. The demon thought it would be mighty fine if you could just… hang around here for a little bit, work up a big ol' sweat across the valley. I mean, a young woman trapped over here with the demons? Yeah, BIG news. A lot of attention towards all of us in the castle. And that's just what the demon wants. And we all know that what he wants, he _gets_, agree?"_

"_No… no, he's not supposed to get _me_." Isabelle shook her head, and her blonde – now a slightly… dirtier blonde than usual – hair whipped around her face. _

_I looked at her, and cocked a head to one side. "No? Are you disagreeing?"_

"_Yes. Of course I am. I don't want to be stuck… _here, _of all places."_

"_Oh, well then, I guess I should just let you go then, shouldn't I?" She nodded her head. "Hmmm…" I started, raising a hand to me chin and looking thoughtful, "I _could… _BUT, I don't want to. I mean, the demon wants you here. Now who am I to stop him?"_

_She became alarmed, and shocked that I wasn't here to help. Well, welcome to the real world, sweetcheeks._

"_Why should YOU get out of here, when I wasn't able to? Why can't YOU be the demons toy, instead? He obviously WANTS you more than me. Why not just… toss him his meal?"_

_I reached for the spare, loose pole on the ground, and lifted it up._

_Her eyes widened, and she started thrashing and screaming._

"_No point in doing that. Who's going to hear you, all the way down here?"_

**-&-**

The water rippled around me as I swayed my hands through it. I felt fresh and revived, and had finally cleared my senses a little bit more.

"Ah, so the great Suze decided to enlighten me with her presence?"

I turned my head towards the voice and smiled. Leaning against the doorway to the baths was a young woman of twenty-one, with her mocha coloured hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a crimson apron, and in her hand was a pile of fluffy white towels.

"Abigail, how are you?" I asked, while walking towards the other side of the pool to get closer. I perched my elbows on the marble floor, and kicked my legs out behind me.

"Well, I'm pretty normal. Thanks for asking. So, how is the life of the almighty Susannah?" She enquired dryly.

I laughed, and pulled myself up onto the side of the pool, and patted the space next to me. She came and took her shoes off, lifted her skirt up, and sat next to me, dangling her feet in the same way I was.

"Care to share what happened at the ever-so-interesting ball?"

"Pfft. It was pretty shitty, to be honest…"

"But…" she said, twirling her hand around in a 'carry on' gesture.

"Well… kind of… bumped into somebody there…"

"Jesse?"

"Uh huh," I nodded.

"Wow, that was surprising." She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I wasn't exactly PREPARED for it, now, was I?"

She sniggered, and stuck her chin out, "Whatever. You should have been."

I sighed gustily, and stared at my feet. The water distorted them, making them fat, and then skinny… fat… skinny…

"So, what happened?" Abigail asked, shaking me out of my reverie.

"Oh, nothing much. He just asked me to dance."

"He WHAT?!?!" She burst out, almost flinging herself into the pool after her sudden actions.

"Well, he… I…"

"After seven years of no-show, he just decided to… ASK YOU TO DANCE?" She put her face close to mine, her eyes practically bulging out of her head. Her face was so close I could see my reflection in her eyes.

"Hey, Paul was there too and-"

"-PAUL?! Oh my GOD, the NERVE."

"ABIGAIL, shut UP, okay? It was fine. More than fine. It was brilliant. I… It was nice to actually SEE him, you know?"

She quietened down and looked towards her feet. "I guess…"

I smiled, and continued, "It was perfect… Well, not PERFECT, because Paul was there and I couldn't breathe all that much in that darn corset and the music was weird, and I was surrounded by arrogant twats, but SO NOT THE POINT. But then… Paul just RUINED it, saying 'Oh, someone wants to see you' in that shitty, smarmy was of his, and practically SHOVED me away from him. So I was all, 'WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!', and he was all 'You can't go back to Jesse, you're MINE, FIEND!' and then he was pissing me off, so I ran outside and Jesse came to see me and was all 'I love you, Susannah. You're not a demon.' – even though I probably AM – and KISSED me."

I breathed heavily, and turned towards Abigail.

Who was looking pretty blank.

"Erm… so… had a nice time?" She asked apprehensively.

"NOT REALLY."

"Oh…" She nodded and licked her lips.

And then just BURST OUT LAUGHING AFTER I MADE A PRETTY LONG DISCUSSION OF THE TRAUMATIC NIGHT I JUST HAD.

"HAHAHAHAHA… Oh my God, you seriously should have seen your FACE, and JEEZ, WHO TALKS THAT FAST ANYWAYS?!" She was clutching her stomach, and tears were rolling down her face.

"Humpf." I crossed my arms, and faced away from her.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Oh, shut up."

She soon stopped after about five minutes of my death glares.

"Look, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But seriously, you okay? I mean, Paul wasn't THAT bad, was he?"

"Not really… I guess after seeing Jesse I overreacted a bit and stuff…"

"How did Paul look?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. Abigail had had a crush on Paul for as long as I knew her. She was always asking how he was and what he said, and was incredibly jealous of the fact that I spent a lot of time with him.

Boy, would I want to exchange her life for mine any day.

Wait, no. She doesn't deserve it.

"Hmmm… He was wearing a suit… A pretty nice suit, actually. It really showed his abs, you know?"

She nodded, her gaze elsewhere. I could almost SEE the drool.

"Other than that, normal. Nothing much to say. Very sorry that I don't pay particular attention to the body of an evil demon."

She snorted, "Come on, it's not exactly a BAD body, is it? It's pretty hot, dontcha think?"

"Yeah, Suze, dontcha think?"

We both looked up, eyes wide, towards one of the doors. And there was Paul, looking as arrogant as he always did, with his trademark smirk.

Abigail's face lit up to an attractive bright red, and jumped to collect her clothes and quickly ran off, leaving me with my mouth wide open, with nothing but a swimming costume in the same room as the demon.

"Get out of the ladies rooms." I grumbled, and stormed off, leaving him in the doorway.

WAS HE JUST LOOKING AT MY _BUTT_?!

* * *

**Wahey, FINALLY FINISHED IT!!**

**I also made a new character. Something I've always wanted to do. Do you like, or not like?**

**Some explanation of what happened To Izzy too... more will be explained about other things in the next chapters.**

**Review!! Please?  
**

**- Suze**


	6. Rooftops

**I am so sorry for the incredibly slow update – I hope I haven't lost many readers. More of a note at the bottom.  
**

* * *

** Chapter VI**

When I had gotten into more… appropriate clothes, I walked out into the hallway. Hoping to just sneak into my room and stay there for the rest of the day, away from Paul, I quickly turned left and headed towards the small maids' stairway, instead of the main one straight ahead.

But, as it turned out, I couldn't get away that easily. Paul had been waiting just outside the door, and grabbed my arm, preventing me from going any further.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Away from you." I replied stonily.

"What did I do now, Suze? Huh?"

"You do know it's incredibly rude to eavesdrop on someone's conversation, right? Oh, and going into the ladies room – especially when there are people IN there – isn't morally acceptable either? Oh wait. Demons don't _have_ morals."

Paul laughed, "You're annoyed about that? Seriously?"

"Well, no, but look, Paul-"

"-Come with me." He interrupted, and headed towards the maids' staircase. Usually, if Paul had grabbed me by the arm and taken me somewhere, I wouldn't be that surprised. But the fact that Paul was WALKING, not materialising, and that he was using the MAIDS' staircase – for if he did walk, on a rare occasion, he would have used the main one – was extremely unusual. Even for Paul.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as we made our way up the third flight of stairs.

"You'll see."

After finally reaching what I imagined to be the very top of the building, after going up five flights of stairs, and then another two even more narrow spiral staircases that were hidden away behind doors, Paul stopped abruptly, and reached for another handle on yet another door.

"Paul, where the hell are you taking me?"

"Do you ever shut up?" He asked, and I could hear a slight smile in his tone.

The door opened with a creak, and light poured onto us. So we _had_ reached the top of the building. We stepped out and Paul led me to the edge.

I looked over the horizon.

And was utterly speechless.

I had never seen the other side like this. There was no pollution or dull little shacks like where we were, with the demons. Instead, there were thousands of tiny cottages varying in size, all brightly coloured and well kept. The sun beamed down, highlighting the roofs and reflecting off the windows. The main castle, instead of overpowering the city like the one Paul and I were standing on, blended well with its surroundings, but still managed to look as if it had authority.

The hills behind the main area of the city was covered in lush, green trees, and dotted with the occasional house. Beyond the hills, the landscape flowed into valleys of vibrant colour and seeped into the distance. Every now and then there would be a village, or maybe a slightly larger town.

The sky was a clear blue, like sapphire, with only a few fluffy clouds obstructing the sun and leaving a shadow on the fields and forests.

"It's… beautiful…" I said, struggling to find a word that would do the view justice.

Paul smiled, and leant on the barrier. "I used to come here when I was younger… when my father was king. Although, I used to look on the other side, over the demons' country. Well, when I wasn't torturing people, that is."

I laughed, but somehow I knew I wouldn't exactly be surprised if he _wasn't_ joking.

"You miss it, don't you?"

"What?" I knitted my eyebrows in confusion.

"Being over there." He nodded towards the city over the valley, "With your family and friends. And Jesse, of course."

I turned away from his intense gaze and focused on the main castle.

"Of course I do. Who wouldn't? But none of that matters anymore, though, does it?" I smiled sadly, keeping my eyes on the valley, so Paul couldn't see my facial expression too much. So Paul couldn't see how upset I really was.

"I guess. Not much can really change that. We're bound in blood, after all. That vessel is what keeps us together."

"What?" I turned sharply towards him, not knowing what on earth he was on about.

"You don't know? No one has ever told you?" He smiled, "Well, I guess it's for the best."

"What are you on about? You can't mention something and then not TELL me!"

"Sure I can. Watch."

"Paul. Stop being an ass." I put my hand on my hip, and glared at him pointedly.

"Well… I guess a little story won't harm much. Even though, you _do_ look adorable when you're confused." He poked my nose lightly, and laughed.

This guy was starting to irritate me. A lot.

"Basically, we're bound by blood. When you were in the dungeons, unconscious, I just took a bit of your blood, mixed with a bit of mine, and there you go. You are now my possession."

"WHAT?! You took my BLOOD without ASKING ME!! That's DISGUSTING, Paul. How could you-EW!!" I jumped back, afraid that if he touched me he may just pass on some of his… gross-ness.

"Well, if I _did _ask, you weren't going to exactly comply, were you?"

"For good reasons!"

He snickered, and rested his elbows on the barrier. "It's the way it's been done for centuries. The only way you can really be taken from my possession is if someone takes the vessel and smashes it, therefore breaking the bond. But don't worry – I doubt Jesse would do something that stupid. If someone _does_ break it, it's practically asking for war."

I grumbled. "Great. So I'm stuck here for the rest of my life."

"Pretty much. It's only been done once."

I raised an eyebrow, curious. "Oh? What happened?"

He sighed, and looked over the valley. "Three thousand years ago, Leon, the king, was in love with Elysia, a beautiful woman from a slightly poor end of the city. But the kingdom didn't want him to marry her. She wasn't royal; neither did she have any authority. Leon and Elysia carried on with each other, despite what others said or felt. They loved each other, and to them, that was the only thing that mattered.

"But Elysia became pregnant with Leon's child. As soon as the kingdom found out, as well as Elysia's family, that she was pregnant out of wedlock, she was disowned. She was given to us, and put into the dungeons – the worst form of punishment." He sniggered, and carried on, "But as she was put in the torture rooms, the lord of the demons at the time – Deimos, I think his name was - saw her. And, allegedly, it was 'love at first sight'. Well, for him anyway. I doubt she felt the same way.

"Deimos decided to let her go. Under one condition – she stay at the demon's kingdom, as a possession of Deimos. Elysia, thinking only of the welfare of her child, agreed.

"After a few years, and the birth of a son – who was now heir to the throne -, Elysia slowly began to fall in love. News spread of the son, and Leon, still being king with no queen, was angry. He loved Elysia with all his heart, and now she was with a demon – a demon that had stolen his lover and heir to his throne, both of which were rightfully Leon's.

"So he captured the 'blood necklace', as it were. Which was a very dangerous and brainless thing to do. As the demon lord saw it missing, he knew immediately that it was Leon. And declared war.

"The battle went on for eight months. The blood necklace still had not been found and replaced, although it had not been broken. Elysia watched from the castle, not knowing who it was she wanted to win. Although she loved Deimos, Leon was still the father of her child, and would always be her first love.

"But Leon was taken from his bed chamber in the middle of the night. He was locked up in the dungeons, and was tortured by demons until he enlightened us with the location of the vessel."

"What happened to Leon?" As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I regretted them. For if the demons had him, his life wasn't exactly going to be rainbows and butterflies.

Paul sighed, not looking at me, "He was taken to the centre of the city. He was hung, drawn and quartered."

"What's that?" Once again, I didn't really think I wanted to know.

"He was dragged on a wooden frame – that's the drawing part - then hung until he was almost dead. Then, feeling pretty faint and weak – as you would do if you had not been able to breath for quite some time – he was disemboweled. His innards and genitalia would have been burned right before his very eyes – that was, if he was actually still conscious. Lastly, he would have been beheaded and cut into four parts – that was the quartering."

Okay. Did NOT want to know that. Now I just felt positively sick.

And Paul wasn't joking. Well, I highly doubted he was going to laugh and burst out with a, 'HAHA, FOOLED YOU!'

Yeah. Not going to happen.

"All of this," He continued – there's _more?_ "Was performed in front of a crowd of demons, and Elysia herself."

I gasped, shocked. "That's… that's _horrible…_"

"It's the way demons are, Suze."

"But… _you _don't have to do things like that. Like you said, that was three thousand years ago. Things change."

Paul shook his head, and looked as if he was slightly ashamed to be a demon at this point in time. "No, they don't. This is what demons are. We're cruel, and we have 'no morals', as you so politely put it. This is the way things are, and the way they will be."

The phrase, 'you can't polish a turd', comes to mind.

"Nothing will happen if you don't believe it to, Paul. Or want it to." I replied quietly.

And with that, I was finally able to go to my room.

**-&-**

_I opened my eyes and looked blurrily around my room. A few rays of sunlight were peeking through the gaps in the curtains, telling me that it was at least morning. I got up, and walked towards the kitchen, the floorboards creaking under me. _

_My mother was flittering around the kitchen, with a few loose strands of hair falling from her once neat bun. God only knows what she was doing._

"_Morning."_

"_Oh, Susie, you're up. Oh, it's so terrible. The king… h-he died last night. In battle. Luckily, the demon died as well, or who knows what would happen!" She came rushing over me, practically tripping over her dress as she did._

"_So the war's finally over?"_

"_Well I hope so. Oh, the poor prince. He's the only son, you know. Imagine, losing his father like that, at just nineteen-" I resisted the urge to point out that yes, I could imagine what it was like, because my own father had died when I was six years old. "- And supposedly he was such a nice boy, too. I do hope he's doing okay, what with all the problems at the moment, he has to build our society and…" I tuned her out. I did not want to know about politics or whatever she was on about when I had just woken up, thank you very much._

"_Susannah! Are you even listening?" I looked up from my breakfast bowl, and saw that in her hand she had a letter. "This is for you. Oh, and you're going to be late for work."_

_I looked at the time. I had ten minutes to get ready and down at the mansion so I could start to help with the lunch. I pity the people who make the _breakfast.

_I took the letter, and ran into my room to start getting dressed. I looked at the front of the envelope, to see my name in cursive handwriting. _Jesse's_ handwriting. _

_Tearing it open, I sat down on the edge of my bed, and began reading._

Querida,

I have lied to you. I am not who you think I am. I told you I was just a relative of the family you work for. But I am much more than that.

As you may or may not have heard, the king died in battle. The only heir to the throne is me, Susannah. I am sorry that I could not tell you in person, but I did not know when I could next see you, and couldn't bear it if you were told by anyone else.

I want you to understand that I did this for your safety. With the war between the demons and us, you would have been in great danger. You mean so much to me, and if anything were to happen due to my careless thinking, I could never forgive myself.

I am afraid that I do not know the next time we will be able to see each other. It is not safe, and may not be for quite sometime. I want you to forget about me, and try to stay away from the castle. I do not want you to risk your life for me.

I am so very, very sorry.

Forever yours,  
Jesse

_My mind was racing. Was he saying goodbye? What else was he lying about? The fact that he loved me? Was our relationship just one big scam?_

_How had I not noticed? All those times he had said he was busy, or had to go away for a while with his family… was he just covering up? He had always made sure that we met in private, secluded places, and our relationship was always one big secret. I had just thought it was part of the excitement, and never thought much of it. But now, now I can piece it all together. It's so obvious. I had been so blind, and covered up anything remotely suspicious._

_Because I loved him. And that's what people in love do. _

_But I was not going to leave him without a fight. How could he even think to believe that I would forget him? I didn't care if I was putting myself at risk, or that he told me not to. I wasn't going to leave without at least saying goodbye face to face. _

_I got dressed, and marched down the hill to the castle. My pulse was racing. I had no plan, and there was no way I would be let in. I just hoped more than anything that he was looking out of a window, or could see me at the gates. Maybe I could distract a guard and sneak in round the side._

_I turned the final corner, and came face to face with an enormous crowd._

_People were bustling around the gates, looking to see if they were to get a glimpse of the new king. I squeezed myself past them, weaving in and out as I did so, trying to get as close as I could to a guard. Once I had spotted one, I made my way over and tapped him on the shoulder._

"_Hi… erm, do you think you could let me in? You see, my boyfriend-" The guard put his hand out, palm showing, telling me to shut up. _

"_Go home, there's nothing to see. I'm fed up of you people thinking you can get in." He gave me an annoyed glance, and continued to watch the crowd as if I wasn't standing less than two feet away from him. He kept perfectly still, standing like a giant among the others. _

"_No, you see, Jesse sent me a letter, and I need to see him-"_

"_Jesse?" He looked down at me again, this time with slightly less annoyance. _

"_Yes! I need to see him!" I was getting louder, and people were starting to turn, and listen to the guard's and I little conversation._

"_I don't know a Jesse. And don't think about coming here any time soon – there's a lot of danger going around at the moment, a young woman like yourself should keep out of it." _

_Stunned by his concern for me, and sudden kindness, I didn't reply. There was obviously no way anyone was going to believe me, let alone let me in to the castle. The crowd started pushing forward more forcefully, and I was pushed to the back of the horde. With one last look at the castle with blurred vision, I hoped that Jesse could see me through one of the windows. Then, I turned around, and make my way back up the hill._

_After ten minutes of swimming in my own self-pity, I felt someone behind me._

"_I saw you at the castle back there. Are you alright?" The man asking me stood to my side, gently touching my elbow in concern._

_I turned to face him. "Do I look like I'm alright?!" I retorted. Tears had made my eyes feel puffy – god only knows what I looked like._

_The guy put his hands up, in an 'I surrender' position, and smiled. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering. Do you mind if I walk you to wherever you're going – which I presume would be home, yes?" He had a nice smile, quite warm and crooked._

"_I… erm…" He held his arm out, offering. "Oh... okay." I linked my arm with his, and we began walking up the hill._

"_I'm sorry for being so rude earlier." I said ruefully, "I'm just having a bad day."_

"_I guessed." He laughed – a light chuckle that sent slight shivers up my spine._

"_It's just… My boyfriend, he… well, I _think_ he broke up with me. He wrote me a letter, saying how he was lying to me, and… All I can think of is that my whole relationship with him was one big fat lie. As if he didn't love me at all." _

"_Would it be rude of me to ask what, exactly, he was lying about?" He enquired._

"_Well… You're not going to believe it." I looked down, letting my hair cover my bright red cheeks._

"_Try me." Once again, he smiled his perfect smile._

"_My boyfriend… Jesse, he told me that he was the new king." Something flashed in his eyes. Something small, and very quickly, but it was definitely there. "You don't believe me, do you?" I laughed to myself – how had I been so stupid to let it slip, and confess to someone I didn't even know?_

"_I do believe you. It just… shocked me slightly. I'm sure he did it for very good reasons. I've heard he's a great man." His jaw tightened, and once again some sort of emotion flittered across his eyes – a different one from before. It was as if he was jealous, but slightly mocking. I presumed he was just annoyed by the attention he got. Besides, Jesse _was _a great man. Just not at this precise moment._

_We walked in silence, still with our arms linked, until we had made the street on which I lived. _

"_This is my street, I can walk from here." I said, breaking the silence._

"_Are you sure? I can take you to your door."_

"_I'll be okay," I smiled, "I'm sure I can take care of myself perfectly fine. Nothing's going to harm me." _

"_I wouldn't be so sure…" He looked down, deeply into my eyes, perfectly serious. His sudden sincerity caught me off guard, and I ended up staring back into his icy blue eyes, trying to read his emotions and what the meanings behind what he had said were. Looking closely, I could see his eyes were slightly troubled, and I tried as hard as I could to see why, find his secrets, and see who he was._

"_You never told me your name." I murmured, still mesmerized by his eyes. _

"_It's Paul." He smiled, lightening the mood. "And yours?"_

"_Susannah. But please call me Suze." _

"_Suze it is, then." He waved, and started to walk back, but with his body still faced towards me. "Hope I see you again." He winked, and walked away. _

_I had a feeling that I would, and smiled at the thought.  
_

* * *

**I don't really like this, but I just had to get it written so I could at least post **_**something**_**. This was more of a filler – I'm building up the background information before the more interesting stuff starts. Which (hopefully – if I actually get round to writing it) should happen soon. Or, you know, within the next few chapters. I have a lot planned for this story, and I really want to use all of my ideas. :)**

**Thanks to those who have reviewed, but I really would appreciate more. They're the things that keep me motivated – hence such a slow update. So if you can, spend a minute or so giving me some feedback, even if it's just a sentence. :)  
**

**For the story at the beginning, the name Leon means lion, as in he's a ruler. And Deimos means fear or terror. I just thought Elysia was a pretty name. ) Oh, and the hanging, drawing, and quartering part was a real torture method. It was mentioned in Much Ado About Nothing, which is how I knew of it.  
**

**Just thought you might want to know. Even though it's not incredibly interesting.**

**Anyway, review please. XD**


	7. Chairs

**I passed the year mark with this fic! And I'm only on chapter seven… damn.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter VII**

I walked along the path, listening to the sound of my feet on the damp gravel. I could smell wet grass, and hear the drips of recent rainwater falling from the leaves. The clouds hadn't disappeared, but were certainly a lighter shade of grey, allowing a few rays of sunlight to pass through from time to time. The rainwater was creating tiny streams, meandering down the path, and towards the bottom of the hill.

It was quite rare that a storm would clear up as nicely as this. The clouds looked as if they would give way to sun. Usually, after a storm, the weather would just go back to dull drizzle.

And then Paul would get annoyed at something else again, and set off another storm.

I never understood why the weather changed depending on the mood of the leader. I suppose it was just an effect of their power – as they weren't just leading a city, they were also very powerful people, being able to do things no ordinary person (or demon) would be able to.

That was probably why Paul was so self-confident. He could do what he pleased. Get what he wanted.

And that was what lead him to be so infuriated when I would refuse to be his queen. Because that's what he wanted.

Which was why he was going after Isabelle. He saw something in her, something that he wanted. Something he knew he would finally be able to get.

She was only around nineteen, and was engaged to William. They had known each other all their life, but had only declared their love for each other within the past year. They were finally happy together, and Paul just wanted to rip them apart. Just like he had to Jesse and me.

It was why I always felt so protective over them. I wouldn't – I _couldn't_ – let Paul ruin what they had. They didn't deserve this. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Paul had just seen Izzy and thought, "Hey, I need a new queen. Hello!"

You would have thought that after seven years of being stuck in this hellhole, I would have wanted to be replaced. But… If there were no reason for me to be here, what would happen? Would I stay? Would I be taken to the torture room? I shivered. Even the thought of being stuck in there frightened me. But where else? Would Paul let me go back across the valley? Even if he did, I probably wouldn't be accepted. I mean, I've been living with the demons. They may think being evil is contagious or something, and that I was one of the demons too. Which I probably was, but all was not lost _quite_ yet. Jesse may be willing to let me back – but supposing he had already found someone to replace me? It's been a long time. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten married yet.

A tear rolled down my cheek. I jumped – I was certainly surprised to find that I was crying. I guess the fact that Jesse may have moved on hurt me. But why? He was _allowed_ to. I was gone – he knew that. He had _let_ me go! As much as I tried to deny it, he had. Paul was right. Jesse had given me up. It would be very unlikely for Jesse to even consider stealing that blood necklace Paul was talking about. That would mean risking the lives of the people he was meant to be protecting.

Realisation hit me – I was stuck. I couldn't stay. I couldn't go back. There was nowhere to go. I was stuck in a void, and I had no idea to get out.

The tears were running more freely, and I gave up on wiping them away. I was numb. I couldn't move, I couldn't… _do_ anything. All I could do was cry.

"Hey Suze, what are you doing out here? I was - wait, Suze, are you…?"

"Leave me alone." My voice was harsh and cold. Although there was definitely a waver due to my constant sobs.

"Suze, what's wrong?" He tried to touch my arm, and I yanked it away. My senses had finally come back, and I looked at the person talking to me.

"Get away from me, Paul."

"Not unless you tell me what's wrong. Is it- Oh God, it's not Jesse, is it?"

Anger flared through me. "Why do you always blame HIM? Why does EVERYTHING have to be about HIM? Or Isabelle? Why can't it be about _me_, for once?" I placed my hands on his chest, and pushed him away. I then stomped off back up the path, and towards the castle.

But, obviously, Paul just had to interfere, and grabbed me by the waist and pushed me against a nearby tree trunk.

"Suze, _please_ tell me what's wrong." He looked at me with pitiful eyes, and it made me even more furious. How dare he feel pity for me? It was his own fault I was like this! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in the mess I was in now. I mean, I may have had some troubles with Jesse, but at least I wouldn't be stuck with a bunch of demons!

"Why do you care?" I spat, "Why don't you just go back and watch _Isabelle_ with that screen of yours, and LEAVE ME ALONE?" I struggled out of his arms, but his grip on m wrist became tighter.

"Suze, for God's sake, of course I care-!"

"Oh, right, enough as to want me to go to the torture room? Enough for me to be STUCK in this… VOID, with nowhere to go? Enough to chuck me out and REPLACE me?"

Tears were in constant stream, and my voice was hoarse. I dreaded to think as to what I looked like.

Paul was quiet. He was thinking, and looking deep into my eyes as if trying to see further into what I was thinking. And yet, when I looked back, I saw nothing. No deeper meanings, no compassion, just… blue. I hated it. I hated that he could always read what I was thinking, but I couldn't do anything back. Why did he think that he could violate my privacy, find out what I was thinking, but that I couldn't know anything about him?

"Stop… _looking_ at me like that." He was freaking me out, and I certainly did not want him to have some sort of power over me.

But that was Paul. He _always_ had power. No matter how hard I tried to defend myself from him, put up a barrier, he would always get in. He'd always _know_.

"You really think that?"

"_What?_" I guess, deep in my musings, I had missed something. "Think what?"

"That I'd send you to the torture room?" Oh… that. I guess that slipped out when I was being an ASS.

"Well… Hey, didn't you say that to me? Oh, so I'm not meant to believe a word you say to me? Well, that makes my life a helluva a lot simpler, thank-"

"Suze. Shut up. I didn't say I would send you… _there_." He looked disgusted at even the thought of it, which I found amusing. I mean, he was the one who freaking used it. "Suze, believe it or not, I do care about you. More than you know. Hell, if I didn't, you would have been in the torture room as soon as you refused to be queen. And… God, I don't know what it is about you, and I really shouldn't feel this way, but I feel as if I have to protect you. From here, from… myself. But if you don't tell me what's wrong, if I don't _know,_ how am I meant to help you?"

I looked into his eyes. I mean _really_ into his eyes. He looked vulnerable. Serious. _Compassionate_, for once. I took in what he said, but I just couldn't understand. He shouldn't be like that. He was a demon. The LORD of demons. He had ruined so many people's lives, and yet here he was, standing in front of me like an open book. Telling me how he felt.

He let go of one of my wrists, and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"Paul, I-" And then I was rudely interrupted by his lips upon mine.

Before I knew what I was doing, my hands were tangled in his hair, and his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. It was passionate, sinful, intense. I knew I shouldn't have reciprocated, that it would make it worse but… when I was being kissed like THAT, I didn't care. As much as I hated to admit it, I was LOVING it. Almost as much as he was.

And that was saying something.

His hands were moving up and down my body, and my skin felt as if it was on fire. My heart was becoming erratic, and we were both panting.

A few raindrops fell onto my bare arms, and I jumped. Paul seemed oblivious to the falling water, but the sudden coldness of the air, and the strong gusts of wind, seemed to waken me up.

Oh my god… What was I _doing?_

I froze. I stopped responding. And _that's_ when Paul noticed.

"Aw, come on, a little bit of rain won't harm. Besides, I like it when you're… _w-"_

"Paul. Please don't finish that sentence." My voice didn't sound like my own – it was all husky. That, and the fact that I hadn't received as much oxygen over the past five minutes than I should have.

Paul grinned mischievously, and returned to kissing me. I returned to my non-response.

He groaned, "Alright, so it's not the rain." He looked into my eyes. And groaned. Again. "Can't you _forget_ about him?"

"Him? What, Jesse? You see? You SEE? Always blaming him!" I was getting defensive, but I didn't care. I wasn't thinking about him at all. Just that I shouldn't have been kissing the lord of demons.

"But it is-"

"No it's not! For you information, I was thinking about how wrong this was-"

"Wrong? How is _this_ wrong? Technically, we should be married already, if it wasn't for you being so stubborn. You'd belong here, and not have to worry about being stuck in a 'void'. So really, it's you who messed up your life, not me-"

I slapped him. Hard. Harder than I had ever hit anyone before. He couldn't just let things go. It couldn't ever be _his_ fault. And he always had to remind me of how shitty my life was.

"Don't you dare! Don't you _dare_ say this wasn't your fault!"

"Look, Su-" I pushed him away from me with all the power that I had, and kept away from him, so he couldn't grab my arm again.

"Why don't you just find your precious _Izzy_, and keep away from me?"

And with that, I stormed off towards the castle, and never looked back.

**-&-**

Why was I so stupid? Why did I always do the wrong thing, no matter how hard I tried not to? Why the _hell_ did I kiss back?

And why did I enjoy it so much?

Or was it that I hadn't felt so… close to somebody in such a long time, that I wanted – or _needed_ – to be touched? Sure, I had kissed Jesse, but that was… different.

Wasn't it?

I was confused. So really, Paul had just made matters a lot worse. AGAIN.

There seemed to be two sides to everything. I wanted to leave, but I didn't want to be replaced. I wanted to be left alone, but I didn't want to be chucked away. I didn't want Paul to take Izzy, but I also wanted him to have her so he would stay away from me.

And out of all the options, none of them seemed… _right_. I didn't want to stay. I didn't want to go. I didn't want Paul to have Izzy, but I did. I just couldn't figure something out that seemed fine. Well, none that Paul would agree to, anyway. And at the end of the day, I wouldn't be able to do anything unless Paul let me. Because I was his little 'possession'.

Maybe I could just go and break that blood necklace myself, it would make things a lot-

Wait a second. What is _that?_

To one side of the valley, not too far away from me, was a little wooded area. Now usually, that wouldn't bother me – that wood had been there as long as I could remember. But the clearing, however, had not.

And neither had the small log cabin in the middle of it.

When had that got there? I mean, sure, I hadn't been to the valley for a while, but it hadn't been longer than a week. Had I just not noticed it? Surely not. A house can't just appear, without even a little bit of noticing.

I stood up, and made my way over. Was this safe? For all I knew, a bunch of blood-sucking demons could live inside. Not that there were any blood-sucking demons in existence, at least to my knowledge. Although it wouldn't exactly surprise me.

I got to the gate, which was only waist height, and led into the garden. I paused. Looking at the cabin, it seemed okay. There were two small windows either side of a wooden door, and there were various wind chimes and flowerpots in the small garden. A path curved round the assorted plants, and eventually ended up at the front door. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

I just couldn't decide whether it was Cinderella or Hanzel and Gretel.

Taking my chances, I opened the gate and walked down the path and towards the front door. Why was I doing this again? I didn't need to knock on the door, I was just curious as to what it looked like. And now I had seen it. So why did I have to get closer?

Something about this house – its mysterious appearance, and the wind chimes and other little ornaments – seemed to spark something in me. I wanted to get closer; I wanted to know _more_.

I knocked the door. Someone moved inside, but no one came to the door. _They probably wanted to be left alone,_ I told myself. Well, no harm in that. I'd prefer that to being attacked by evil demons any day.

Turning back on myself, I went back to the gate. Then I heard a squeak. I looked back, to find that the door had opened. And yet no one was there.

Oh, well, this isn't weird.

Deciding it wouldn't be too bad if I went in, I walked back to the house and went inside.

To find a room full of chairs.

No, seriously, FULL of CHAIRS. Just one room. With a lot of chairs. It was bizarre. There were tiny ones, large ones, padded ones, decorated ones, ones with arms, ones without, ones with three legs – every single style of chair you could think of was in that room. And only one was taken – by a frail old lady, with huge glasses, and grey wiry hair tied back in a bun.

"Hello."

I smiled nervously. This was so surreal. I really needed to get out, before she turned into something evil and tried to kill me. Maybe put me in a fire, or something.

"Er, hi. Nice to see you. I'll be going now." I waved, and walked backwards, towards the door.

"You were wondering how this cottage came about?"

Whoa there! She knew what I was thinking? Who IS this lady? She could earn-

"A lot of people have come asking me that. I also have cookies. Would you like one?" She took a plate of cookies from beside her, and offered them to me.

"You know what, I've just had lunch-" _and I really don't want to eat your poisonous cookies,_ "- and I shouldn't really hang around, it looks like it's going to rain, and I-"

"Of course not. Why would it rain when we're not sad?"

Okay. This lady was CRAZY.I was seriously starting to worry about her mental disposition. And mine.

"Now, I want to play a game," _WHAT?!_ "Don't look so worried, my dear, all you have to do is choose a chair."

"Sorry?" Choose a chair? Choose a freaking CHAIR? LOOK AT THIS PLACE!

"Choose a chair, sit on it, and I'll picture what your life is like. Like looking into a crystal ball, without the crystal ball."

Picture what my life is like? What, did she want nightmares? Deciding that there was no harm, and that she was just some old lady wanting company, I looked for a chair. Well, there was no way I was going to sit near her, so I chose one reasonably far away – not too far so that it was noticeable, but not too close so she may touch me. It had a few modest decorations on the arms and back, and was made of solid oak. Or what I presumed to be oak, as I wasn't really a wood person.

"Ahh", she said, "Not quite what I was expecting." Her eyes focused on the chair, and her head tilted to one side in concentration. "You're strong… protective, of others and yourself. You shy away from company, you feel… lonely…" Her eyes closed, and her mouth opened a little bit. It was as if she was reading a story of my life. "You're incredibly powerful… more so than you know. Some people see that, though. They see what you can do, and they're attracted to it. You're psyche is strong, but it's being broken down. You don't know what to do, your future is unclear, but you're still going. Because you know that that's all you have left - your own motivation.

"You're so vulnerable. You can't reach your potential, because of the demons. The demons that mock you, ruin your life, took away your- Oh. I see, now. It's clear. Love, pure love, was with you, but left. You felt betrayed. Lost. Your life was starting to come back together, but love has come back. You love him, but you deny it, because you know it's wrong. You don't _want_ it to be true, because you're worried as to what might happen. Your life could be damned, or it could flourish – and you're too scared to find out which one-"

"Stop." I didn't want to hear any more, because I knew what she was going to lead to. She was going to tell me how to live my life – and I didn't want some old hag telling me to fight for love, or some shit like that.

She opened her eyes and smiled kindly. She understood. "Be careful, my dear. Bad times are coming, you need to keep strong. At least until then." She waved, "Goodbye, dear. And don't be too hard on him – he's had a hard time, too."

"Yeah, bye. And, er… Thanks, I guess." I walked out of that house and garden as fast as I could, and ran the rest of the way.

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**Please review. If I don't get reviews, I probably won't update again for another… three months.**


	8. Stuck

**Hi! I've had this chapter a while, but then I realised that today is a year exactly since my last post. So I thought I'd wait till now. :) I also got my exam results today. Which I had to open live on radio. Yeah, I didn't make a complete fool of myself. XD "So, how do you feel?" "… Weird."**

**Bad times. XD**

**Anyway, I've roughly outlined the plot now, and think I'll be able to update weekly. So if anyone still reads this (or have just started), I would really appreciate reviews so I know that I'm not wasting my time. XD**

**And now for the re-introduction of Demonic Possession!**

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**Chapter VIII**

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Ergh. My head hurt. I repositioned myself so my head wasn't at its side, and that it rest on the cool metal behind me, hoping that maybe it would dull the pain._

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_My wrists. Something was holding my wrists. It felt scratchy, and dug in, cutting my circulation. Rope. Why were my wrists held with rope?_

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_This was not cool. I really didn't want to know what kind of mess I had gotten myself into. And what the hell was that noise anyway? _

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_That's it. I am opening my eyes. _

_I did._

_And screamed._

_What the HELL?! What was this, a cellar? A dungeon? And why was I here? TIED UP?_

_The door creaked open. Oh god oh god oh god… I am going to die._

_A figure came through the door. I couldn't see them, as it was dark, but I knew it was a man. Ladies aren't usually that tall and well-built._

_Oh even better. A well-built man. All the better to beat me to a bloody pulp. Joy._

_He walked slowly towards me. Even in the darkness I could tell he was staring at me. I could practically feel his eyes burning my flesh. He was evil. That much was certain. No good person would tie up an innocent lady (cough) to a pipe. _

_He crouched down, and took something out of his pocket. God, I hope it wasn't a knife or something._

_It wasn't. A knife, I mean. It was a match. Which he then lit._

"_P-Paul?" What was he doing here? Was he locked down here, too? I wasn't alone? Hallelujah!_

"_Suze," He smiled, showing his perfectly white teeth, "So nice to see you. Glad to see you're awake. Finally." He chuckled, as if it was some sort of private joke. _

"_Paul, where am I? And what are you doing here?"_

"_What do you think I'm doing here? Do you not remember anything?" _

_I tried to look back. Everything was blurry. I just remember… Jesse. Leaving. He had to go out. And then… a noise. And darkness._

"_Jesse…" I murmured to myself. What if he was down here too? _

"_Oh, yes, Jesse. Funny story that, actually. Do you remember why you were with him?"_

"_Er… yeah. He said…" It was coming back. It was all coming back. And my blood ran cold. "The Demon Lord wanted me. We were hiding. Oh my god, Paul, you have to get me out of here!" I struggled against the rope, trying to break free. I couldn't stay here! I had to leave! I didn't want to be taken by some demon! Jesse and me had been hiding for weeks, trying to get away, and the moment he leaves, someone takes me. Well, that's just typical._

_Paul held my arms tightly, so I wouldn't move, and looked me in the eyes. "You're not going anywhere." He smirked._

"_What? Paul, I-"_

"_It was so easy to find you." He stood up. "It was just the case of finding… the most opportune moment."_

_I was confused. I had spoken to Paul just after Jesse had told me he was king and didn't want to see me anymore, and Paul picked up the pieces. We started to meet each other, and became friends. So why was he saying…_

_Oh. Oh god…_

"_Paul, no, you…" I shook my head. This couldn't be real. He couldn't be…_

"_Ah, so you figured it out. Took you long enough." He laughed, and came back closer to me._

"_All this time? All this time I thought you were just being… nice, and… Hey, you told me you lived near the valley!"_

"_Well, that's not really a lie. I didn't tell you which side of the valley, you just assumed-"_

"_Because you were near the castle! Why else would you be there? Oh my god…" I had trusted Paul. And I was betrayed. I shouldn't have been so stupid – eager to be close to someone I didn't even know, just because they were _nice_. Look how it turned out._

"_You two kept hiding. Moving from place to place, and yet you didn't realise one thing. I knew where you were. It was just a case of Jesse accepting."_

"_Jesse accepting what?"_

"_That you would be my queen."_

"_WHAT? Jesse didn't accept that, he wouldn't-"_

"_But he did, Suze. That's why he left you. He accepted, and one of my demons took you and brought you here."_

"_No… no, no, no, no, no… He wouldn't… He loves me…" I shook my head. Jesse couldn't do that. We were hiding _because_ he didn't want the Lord to have me. We loved each other. He wouldn't give up…_

_Tears were rolling down my face. It couldn't be true. But then… why else would he have left me?_

_Paul brought his thumb up, and wiped a tear off my face. "Get off me!" I screamed, and attempted to slap his hand away. But of course I couldn't, because both of my hands were tied behind my back, and around a pipe._

"_Seeing as Jesse has accepted that you are my possession, I need you to accept that you'll be my queen."_

"_What? No way."_

"_Suze, you're already mine, you might as well-"_

"_I am not. Being a queen. To a demon."_

_He brought his face closer to mine. "You get everything you want. Jewellery, clothes-"_

"_You think that's what I want? I want Jesse! Not you, or your fancy little things. I will NOT agree to marry you, you asshole!"_

_Uh oh. I guess I hit a nerve. His eyes were smouldering with anger, and his jaw was clenched._

"_Fine then. You'll be stuck in here until you do."_

**-&-**

"You have _got_ to stop going down there."

"I know."

Abigail was lounging on a chair, and I was lying on my bed. I had been telling her about the weird lady with all the chairs, who I had met at the valley.

"It just bothers me," I said, twirling one of my necklaces between my fingers. "What she said about love returning… Do you think it's because I saw Jesse the other night?"

Abbey sighed, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. "I don't know. It was probably nothing. I mean, the lady lives in a house with nothing but hundreds of chairs. I doubt she is actually mentally stable."

"Well, there were cookies there, too…" I mumbled, trying to defend the little old lady. But I decided to drop the issue, as Abbey was obviously not interested or spooked by the fact that some old lady knew I was connected to demons and that one had taken away the love of my life. I wanted to change the subject, but had come up blank, so instead returned to playing with the ruby necklace. The ruby was so red, glittering in the light from my bedside lamp, almost looking like… "Blood."

"Sorry, _what?_"

"Blood. Blood necklace." I sat up, alert. "Do you know anything about a blood necklace?"

Abbey stared at me quizzically, finally interested in what I had to say. Or maybe she just thought I had finally gone mad. "Umm… not really… Well, something about some demon tale, but what it has to do with chairs, I don't kn-"

"I'm not talking about chairs! The blood necklace! Paul, he mentioned something about it. Well, a lot, actually. He said that it was what bounded him and me together - what makes me his possession. But then he also said that if anything was done with it, a war would be started…"

"A war? Between who?" I had her full attention now – she sure was one for violence and gore. Well, she did live in a city full of demons, after all…

"Well, Jesse's kingdom and this one, obviously."

"Who's to say Jesse would do anything with it? Not to be mean or anything, but if he wanted to break it, he would have done it by now." Her eyes were full of pity, and yet her words were harsh and almost knocked the breath right out of me. But she was right – he _would_ have done it by now, wouldn't he? "But what if _you_ did it? Who would there to be to start a war with?"

"_Me?_ I'd get sent to the torture rooms!" I was curious about the idea, but I knew the consequences would be much worse than the void I was in now.

"Why would Paul do that? He likes you." Abbey was right, again. He did say the other day before he kissed me – something I was still confused about. Why had that affected me so much? – that he would never send me to the torture room… and a lot of other things beside, but none that I felt like sharing with Abbey at this precise moment.

I sighed. I really was not sure what to do about the whole situation. "Look, I am not going to break that necklace. I'm just going to have to see what happens, and hope that Paul doesn't decide to find Isabelle before I work out what I'm going to do."

Abbey looked at me then, a look of concern. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her mouth was in a grim line. "Suze…"

I looked at her warily. "What, Abbey? What am I meant to do? This thing… whatever it is… it's bigger than I am. I can't fight a whole kingdom. And I certainly can't fight Paul."

"But you can't just… give up like this! You're strong – that lady said so!"

"But I thought she was mentally unstable, right?" I cut her off coldly. Abbey looked down, biting her lip as if she wanted to say something but knew that she shouldn't. "Look, Abbey, there's no point risking it. Paul is a _demon_. Not just that, but he runs a kingdom full of them. I mean, Paul may say he doesn't want me to go the torture rooms – but I'm sure there are worse things out there than that."

Abbey sighed, looking dejected. She looked out of the window morosely. "Just let me know when the old Suze is back, right? The one who used to laugh in the Demon Lord's face and climb over the castle wall's in the middle of the night."

My throat was aching, and my nose was going sniffly. "Abbey, I-"

"Save it." She said, and promptly left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

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**Want me to keep up with regular updates? Review. :D**

**- Suze**


	9. The Blood Necklace

**Sorry for the slightly late update, I was away and didn't have a chance to edit anything. Hopefully from now on I'll update every monday.**

**And I'm just going to warn people now that to keep up with regular updates, I'm cutting down chapter sizes.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed - I probably wouldn't have bothered writing this otherwise. XD**

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**Chapter IX**

The constant drizzle outside was slowly driving me insane. The windows were closed, and yet the incessant noise was still carrying through from outside. My room was dark apart from the muted dull grey light coming through the window, but I didn't attempt to put on any lamps or the fire at the end of my bed, even though my room was slowly reaching freezing temperatures.

I had stayed in the same position since Abbey had left, and had banned any maid from entering my room trying to give me food or take me down to the baths to relax. I didn't want to visit the baths – that was Abbey's main area of work, and I did not want to risk bumping into her after what happened the last time we met. I felt terrible, guilty of what I had done – or hadn't done – and even worse that I was pushing people away that were wanting to help me.

But what was it that I had done, exactly? Given up? I was surrounded by demon guards, and was fully aware of the torture rooms that you could see out of my bedroom window. There wasn't a whole lot I _could_ do. I had been rebellious, in the beginning. Refusing to talk to people, answering back to Paul, trying to escape. But it had all been in vain – the fact I was still here was proof of that. Maybe it wasn't that I had given up. Maybe it was just that I had learnt that all of it was futile.

My excuses didn't even fool myself. I could go and try and find the blood necklace, but I was afraid. Maybe not of the torture rooms, but what would happen if I _wasn't_ his possession. I had been here too long to be let out into the real world. I was still stuck with nowhere to go.

I didn't want Isabelle to be in this position. I wanted her to have what I couldn't – a free life, a chance to be with her love and get married and everything else a seventeen year old in love should get. If there was one thing I _was_ willing to stay strong for, it was that. I had done enough damage – it was me who should sort it out.

I was aware that Paul knew where Isabelle and William were, and would undoubtedly find them whenever he wanted. But there was nothing stopping me from… _helping out_ when they were brought to the kingdom. Whatever I did may be cutting it close, and might not work, but it was as good as I could do – I couldn't stop that screen from working, I knew that much. It worked by some demon power that Paul possessed and I, not being a demon (well, a true one, anyhow), didn't.

I finally stood up, and headed to my small bedroom. After looking in the mirror, I decided it would be best if I washed my face – my red eyes, tear stained face, and runny nose was _not_ a good look. I knew that my hair would be a lost cause.

After making sure I looked at least a little bit decent, I headed my way to the tower where I met Paul using that screen of his. Maybe if I could work it, I could possibly use it to check on Isabelle and William, and making sure they weren't doing anything stupid. Not knowing anything about Paul, they were extremely prone to doing this.

I had not had any questioning guards on the way (they may have learned from experience that asking me where I was going was only going to get me pissed off, and that if there was any trouble Paul would be called), and the staircase and doors around the tower were free from _anyone_. Is that just slightly odd? Considering what's in there? I guess it looks a little ordinary, and not like it holds an evil spying machine, but still…

After finding the secret door, I found myself in a room of pitch black. Last time I came here, the screen had been on, lighting the room a little. Now, there was nothing. I blundered my way through the dark till I found the chair, sat on it, and faced the direction I felt was where the screen had been last time.

This is something I hadn't taken into account when I decided to come over here. I had no idea how it worked. For all I knew, Paul could have set up some password or traps, and I could find myself stuck in a room full of demons trying to protect the castle's property.

I sighed. This was so not cool.

Taking a breath, I tried various things to try and get something. "Hi, er… Show me Isabelle." Nothing happened. "William?" Still nothing. It didn't help that I had no idea what their last names were or any other information about them. I took a deep breath again, thinking of someone I knew more about, "Jesse de Silva?" A dull ache in my heart started, but it was all for nothing. There wasn't even a stir in the room.

I wanted to forget about the whole idea. I wanted to go back to my bedroom, and just wait for something to happen. But I couldn't do it. What Abbey had said was still ringing in my head. She was right! The old Suze wouldn't do this, wouldn't give up. My anger was rising. I was angry at myself, at Paul, at Jesse for giving up too, right when I needed him. I would not just sit by while two people's lives were ripped apart, like Jesse's and mine was. I had to do SOMETHING.

"Dammit, you stupid thing, show me Isabelle!" I smashed my hand on the arms of the chair, ignoring the pain that soared up my arm.

And then something happened. There was a slight flicker of light in the bottom corner of the room, and then it spread. Spread across the entire wall, almost blinding me with the sudden brightness. And there was Isabelle, lying in a bed, with her head resting on the shoulders of William. They were safe, in what looked like a cabin. I was not sure where they were, but it certainly did not look like anywhere near here. For one thing, the sun was shining, and I could faintly hear birds – something that would never happen near this city.

I relaxed. I found a way to work it – well, sort of. I knew it was possible, at least, and no guards had come to attack me yet – and I could use it as an advantage. Paul may be waiting for the most 'opportune moment' to find them, but so was I.

Not wanting to invade their privacy, even if they weren't aware of it, I decided to try and search for something else. I knew that this could look for people, but would it work for objects? I tried to see if it would.

"Show me the blood necklace." I ordered, willing for it to come on the screen and not leave. It was flickering but no images could be seen clearly. There was a fuzz, and I tried to focus, getting it clearer myself, willing it so hard to work and find it. I wanted to _see_ it, even if I couldn't touch it.

The image stabled, to show a medium sized, plain room, with long red drapes around the side blocking most of the grey light, but still allowing the table and glass box in the middle to be shown. I tried to get a look closer inside the glass box, and the image zoomed in so that I could see a necklace hanging off a stand, protected by the glass. The necklace was beautiful, a thin silver chain, with a delicate filigree pendant in the shape of a diamond. Tiny rubies were entwined with the metal, and under that showed a duller red, which I presumed to be the blood of both Paul and I locked in glass. I knew that the look of this should have disgusted me, but it was so _beautiful_, I couldn't help but be in awe.

I was shaken out of my reverie by the sound of a door. Thinking it was the door at the bottom of the stairs leading up to where I was, I panicked, trying to think of someway to escape. Which, of course, there wasn't. But movement on the screen made me realise that it was what I was looking at that was making the noise. Someone was entering the room with the blood necklace.

And that someone, walking slowly, with slight nervousness apparent on his face, was Jesse.

What was he doing? He wasn't- No… no, no, no, NO! He can't touch it! No, I wouldn't let him!

I managed to get the screen to zoom out and into the corridor enough so I could see where this room was, and once I found that it was on one of the lower floors further down the building, I ran out of the room.

My heart was pounding in my head, my breath was heavy, and I was trying so _hard_ to run as fast as my dress would let me. And let me tell you, the slightly tight corset was NOT helping me.

Once I found the door to the room, I slowed, and made sure my breathing wasn't too loud. Then, as quietly as I could, I opened one of the large doors, crept inside, and kept to the shadows, of which there were many.

Jesse stood in the middle of the room, glaring at the offensive jewellery. His hands were in his pockets, and a piece of hair had fallen into his eyes.

Something moved in the opposite corner of the room. Jesse hadn't noticed it – he hadn't even noticed me walking in the room -, but I sure had. I turned, to find Paul glaring at him in much the same way as he was glaring at the necklace.

This sent my heart into overdrive. Jesse couldn't do this! His was risking his life, not to mention the kingdom's safety.

Jesse's hand came out of his pocket, and he reached out to touch the glass.

"You don't want to be doing that."

Jesse's head snapped up, his hand frozen in mid air. Paul had casually stepped out the shadows and into the faint light. I could only really see his silhouette, but I knew he was looking as arrogant as always.

"Yes, I do." Jesse replied coldly, once again reaching for the glass.

"No, you don't."

It was at this point that both Jesse and Paul had finally noticed I was in the room, and the looks on their faces were surprised to say the least. I could see slightly more clearly now, my eyes having adjusted, and having walked into the light a bit more.

"Susannah?" Jesse still hadn't gotten round to touch the glass, his hand still hanging. I had a feeling that his shock wasn't just because I had randomly turned up. "What do you mean?"

"I can't let you do this, Jesse, it-"

"She's right." Paul interrupted, angling himself between me and Jesse. "You can't be doing this."

"Yes, I can." Jesse's eyes were tight with anger, and his hands were clenched by his side. "Susannah does not deserve to be trapped here any longer-"

"You mean you're willing to risk the well being of your kingdom for some girl?" He asked, his voice taunting, eyebrows raised.

"I love her." His words were guarded, but it didn't make them appear less true. My mind was swimming – what was going on? Why was this happening? Why was he doing this _now_?

Paul laughed, still confident. "And you really think she loves you after what you did? A bit too late to be protecting your kingdom now, isn't it?"

"Paul, st-"

Once again, he cut me off, completely ignoring me. "Suze is _mine._"

His eyes were dancing, his face one of a true demon.

"But you're going off to find another girl – one from _my_ kingdom! Why do you need to keep Susannah when you're going to marry someone else?" I was extremely interested in what Paul had to say about this, as I had no idea either.

"I think you know why, Jesse." WHAT?? How did Jesse know?? Why didn't _I_ know! I was the main person here!

"NO! You will NOT use her in that way, she does not-" Jesse's livid outburst was interrupted by guards bursting through the doors and taking Jesse by the arms. The guards were huge, and Jesse didn't even bother putting up a fight. Or maybe he just didn't want to.

"Jesse!" I screamed, trying to run towards the guards to let him go. But Paul was in front of me, and easily held me round the waist, restraining me. "Stop it!" I screamed again, thrashing around. "Where are they TAKING him?"

"Only away from the city, Suze." Paul replied coolly, setting me back down once Jesse and the guards were safely out of the room. I turned around to glare at him, hoping that my rage would be clear to him. "How did you get here, anyway?"

His question stunned me for a moment. "Um, what? I err… walked."

"Why did you come?"

I was getting uncomfortable. "Well, I saw Jesse coming-"

"What do you mean, saw him?"

"Do you MIND? If you let me finish, instead of INTERRUPTING all the time…" I sighed. I was beyond irritated. "I used that screen thing you were using the other day, I saw Jesse coming in here."

His eyebrows shot way up. "You used _that_?"

"Well, yes. Oh, I'm sorry, are you surprised that '_some girl'_ worked out how to use it?" He flinched at the quote I was repeating back to him, and noticed the anger in my eyes.

"No, it's not that, just… I guess I forgot you saw it. And look, I'm sorry about what I said, you know-"

"Whatever, Paul."

I turned away from him, and headed out the doors and back to my room, ignoring his calls for me to come back. There is only so much irritation a girl can take in one day.


	10. Demons

**Chapter X**

After the incident with the chairs and that old lady, I had been reluctant to return to the valley. But after the recent events in the castle, I couldn't take it any longer. The place was becoming more and more like a prison. I had gotten used to the place after a while, but now it was just like old times. The reappearance of Jesse had certainly strengthened this feeling.

And so, with my legs curled underneath me, and my dress billowing out and swaying in the light breeze, I was sat directly in the middle of the vast expanse of grass – with the storms to my right, and the sun and white, fluffy clouds to my left.

But as I sat there, I realised how truly alone I felt. I desperately wanted Abbey. I needed someone to talk to, and she had always been there for me. I had just blew it, by so many insecurities that had manifested over the years of betrayal and hurt. But now I was betraying and hurting others – Will and Isabelle especially. I had still not forgotten the incident in the dungeon, something I would always try to make up for. And I _would_ make up for that. By helping them any way I could, even if it put me in danger myself.

What had happened in the room with the blood necklace earlier had given me courage. I _could_ prevent things from happening. Okay, so Paul could have easily sorted out that situation – especially with the aid of the guards -, but I had made Jesse doubt his actions. He may have been more forceful, put up more of a fight, if it wasn't for me telling him that he shouldn't. That I hadn't _wanted _him to.

That thought had frozen me. Why hadn't I wanted him to? I told myself over and over that I couldn't let him risk the kingdom. But was it just that? Was there another reason why I could not break the bond between Paul and I?

I didn't really want to think about it. But I _had _stopped him. And now I felt that maybe the old Suze was returning. And that the old Suze could be strong enough to fight for Isabelle and William when the time came.

This new hope gave me hope for another situation. I would go and find Abbey. I had to find her, and tell her what I had done. I needed to apologise, to explain, and just to… talk. To be with my friend. She was, after all, the only friend I really had. I was not going to let the 'new Suze' get in the way.

**-&-**

It was as I was leaving the castle – through a window left ajar off the maids' headquarters – that I realised that I had never been in the city alone. To be honest, I had very rarely been in the city at all, and the times that I had were just by travelling somewhere with Paul. So walking through the streets on my own was certainly an… interesting experience. I had found a black cloak in my expansive wardrobe that covered my face but allowed me to see where I was going. I wasn't sure if people had ever really seen me, and I did not want to be recognised. Especially as being in the city unaccompanied was prohibited.

I felt a rush of adrenaline at the thought. The old Suze _was_ returning. And it wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeling.

It was this adrenaline, the pure _thrill _of doing something I wouldn't have even thought of days ago (hell, even _hours_ ago), that pushed my feet further, winding round the crowds of people and lean-to shacks typical of the city. Every now and then I would look up quickly, to check where I was going. I vaguely knew where Abbey lived – most people like her lived in an area east of the castle, just out of the city limits. It was a fair walk, and maybe not one I should have been making if I didn't want anyone to recognise me, but it gave me the chance to really see the city. Not that the city was interesting, but I knew I wouldn't have seen it any other way.

Abbey lived with others who had come from out of the area, in small towns and villages beyond the mountains, on the plains. Most of these areas had been destroyed ten years ago by Paul's father, who had been king at the time. He had been trying to gain as much land as possible, and thought the best way of doing that was to annihilate all other towns in the area. Anyone who put up a fight was immediately killed, and the rest were taken by the kingdom. Abbey had told me that she spent just over a year in one of the dungeons – I presumed that this would not have been like the dungeon me and Izzy had been in, but one of the large communal cells. Most of the females were taken as maids, like Abbey, and the males were put into agriculture. It was horrid to see – the people were so kind and innocent, but their lives had been destroyed by the demons and were now taken as slaves. It was no wonder they kept to themselves, and away from the city.

I was still heading east, and I noticed with chagrin that the city held no signs of thinning out – the wooden buildings were still tall and cramped, and the roads were busy. Thankfully no one had seen me yet, or paid any attention, but I was still sticking to the shadows.

My feet were soaked from walking through the puddles, and the water was rising up my cloak, so it was now just above ankle level. The rain had started not that long ago, and although it was light at the moment, the dark clouds above me showed that more rain was on the way.

Which is just great. There was at least another few miles to go, and there was no doubt that I would end up stuck in the middle of a storm. How did Abbey do this every day?

It was as I was turning another corner, which looked much the same as the last ten I had gone round, that for the first time I bumped into someone.

"Oof!"

"Whoa, watch where you're going, lady!" The man said gruffly, as his large and calloused hands were on my shoulders to steady me.

I mumbled an apology and tried to side step him. He saw what I was about to attempt, and caught my arm. I looked into his grey, almost celery coloured eyes, ignoring the rain hitting into my face. "Excuse me?"

A slight smirk was playing on his lips, "Where you goin', pretty lady?"

I stalled. Why was he so curious? I was definitely heading into Bad Territory. "Home."

"You don't sound like you're from 'round here."

"That's why I'm heading the other way." Once again, I tried to get past him, but he still wouldn't let up.

"Where to?"

"Look, would you let me go? It is _raining_, in case you haven't noticed, and I would like to get inside."

He raised an eyebrow at my outburst, but continued to smirk. "You can come to my place, if you'd like. It's closer."

Was he trying to hit on me or something? This was not cool. And I did not want to cause unwanted attention my way. "Err, you know, it's really not that far, so I'll just be going-"

I ducked under his arm, and ran down the street, hoping that no one would be paying much attention. I could hear his shouts, but I kept running, and turning down more alleys until I thought I'd lost him.

Annoyingly, I had turned down so many alleys without paying much attention that I wasn't sure what direction I was facing. I may have been using the looming castle to help my directions, but I was so deep in the city, and the buildings were tall enough that I couldn't even see the flag. Great. Now I was lost. In the rain. In a mucky alley.

I really didn't know how I got into these situations. Okay, so I may have been in prohibited areas, and I may have been alone, but I was still being inconspicuous! I think I was just a danger magnet.

"Hey!"

I froze. I recognised that voice.

"Come back here, pretty lady!"

Danger Magnet was in full force. Celery eyed man was behind me, and I could tell that his footsteps were getting closer. I ran for it, towards the dull light at the end of the alley. Just as I was getting closer, two more figures covered the gap, so there was no way out.

I turned around, to see that the celery eyed man was only a few metres away and getting closer.

"Such a pretty lady…" One of the figures said.

"Can't be a demon… surely not…"

"Yes, much too polite. And small."

"Hey! I am not _small_!" I answered indignantly, glaring at the figure where the last comment had came from.

I was figuring out my chances of escaping. Very little. It was three against one… could I talk my way out of it? Probably not – these were demons, after all. I shuddered at the thought. Demons capable of anything.

They laughed, and got closer. I was circled by three large demons, with no way out.

"You know… it's raining… Sure don't want to get a pretty girl like you all wet. Come with us-"

"You know what? I think I'll pass."

The taller of the three came closer, leaning into my face so I could feel his breath on my cheek as he spoke, "You don't have a choice."

Not good. Really not good. How was I going to get out of this? And if I did, how would I explain all this to Paul?

And why did this guy's breath have to stink so much?

"You know, next time you go and invade my personal space," I said, waving my hand around me to show which areas were a No Go Area, "Could you consider the fact that I have to smell you? I mean, God, haven't you had a shower? EVER?"

After my bad case of verbal diarrhoea got the better of me, I realised that that probably wasn't the best thing to say to someone twice your size, and who seemed to be intent on killing you. But then again, what _was _the best thing to say?

It was at this moment that my body decided to take over from my traitorous mouth, and show me another bad idea of what was Not The Best Thing To Do.

Which was hit the man in the face.

"Ow! She- she hit me!" he was surprised, but that surprise turned into anger very quickly.

The other two had the same reaction, and promptly threw me against the muddy wall. My head hit it with a thud.

"Hey! Mind the merchandise!"

"Enough talking! You _will_ come with us, you slut!"

Before I even had the chance to register what he just called me, the man took me by the elbows, and started dragging me out of the alley. "Get off me!!" I was screaming, but no one took any notice or tried to help out. At first I was thinking how rude the people must be. Until I realised that they were all demons too.

All three of them were on me now, holding me up and restraining me so I could barely move. My heart was pounding, terror pulsing through my veins twice as fast. These were _demons_! And demons that wouldn't care to off me, like Paul would.

It wasn't long before I was chucked into a carriage unceremoniously, and hit my head on something solid. Just before losing consciousness, I registered a faint metal scraping of a lock.

_Crap._

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**Does anyone have anything they want to know about this story? I'm thinking of putting in some flashbacks, but I'm not sure what. If anyone has any good ideas, please tell me in a review! I'll even, errr… dedicate the chapter to you!**

**Or maybe I could give you a mini-preview of the next chapter… but that means I'll have to **_**finish**_** the chapter, lol. .**

**Review! Please. :)**


	11. Dungeon

**Excuse the poor length, this chapter was crazy hard to write. :(**

* * *

**Chapter XI**

_Erghhhhhhhhhhhh._

My head was in agony. And I was also damp. And shivering. And there was a really annoying dripping noise coming from somewhere.

For one fleeting moment (well, okay, maybe like five minutes, but who's counting?), I thought I was stuck in the dungeon again. Like I was sixteen, and the last seven years of my life weren't spent in a huge castle run by demons. Which was an easy assumption to make considering I had just woke from being unconscious, there was a dripping noise, I had a killer headache, and my hands were tied behind my back in the same way.

Or maybe I just ended up in dangerous situations a little too often.

I slowly opened one of my eyes to get a look of the surroundings. And, errr… if there were any people (well, _demons_) in my presence.

However, after opening one and seeing that it was fairly dark anyway and I couldn't see any figures, I opened them both.

The room was also fairly similar to the dungeons. I realised that I wished that it was, because then at least something bad would happen to me through Paul, and not through some random demons on the street.

When this thought first came in to my head, I was shocked. Why would it matter if Paul did something or not? But for some unfathomable reason, I knew that if I died or was sent somewhere or whatever, I would want Paul to be the one to do it. Okay, so if I had the choice I would rather it be me, but still. There was some sort of connection between Paul and I that seemed to make him responsible for anything that happened to me.

This connection was probably due to the blood necklace. Maybe it was more psychological than I first thought.

The thoughts of the blood necklace spread some more panic to my oh-my-god-I'm-about-to-be-tortured panic. If I wasn't at the castle, what if something happened? What if Paul found his 'opportune moment' and went after Isabelle? I wouldn't be able to stop it! I couldn't save her, even though I promised! And what if Jesse did something stupid, like start a war? If he broke the blood necklace, Paul might go a bit crazy. Although he wanted Isabelle, Jesse had mentioned the other day that Paul wanted me for something. I had no idea what this was, but it was obviously SOMETHING. Something he kept me around for seven years for.

But then I realised that it didn't matter if Paul couldn't get what he wanted from me, or if Jesse broke the bond. Because I was probably about to die.

I probably should have been upset over this. The fact that I was going to die without apologising to Abbey, or making sure that Isabelle was safe. But I also couldn't help feeling… detached. Like it wasn't me in this situation.

Or maybe as I'd been in this position before, I kind of got used to it.

I looked around the room now that my eyes had adjusted. I could see from the dim light given by the small rectangle at the top of the wall to my right that the room was empty. The walls were slightly glistening from the damp and slight drips from the poles connected to the roof. Everything was stone, with a layer of grime over it. Which was just doing wonders to my already messed up hair.

As I was looking round, I saw that there was a thin band of light on the furthest wall, followed by a creak. This, I supposed, was where the door was.

A figure came through the door, and then there was a slam as it closed behind him. He walked towards me, feet scraping along the floor. As he got closer, he moved to the right to light a lantern hanging off the wall.

The light lit his face, and I could see he was the same man that bumped into me the first time. No doubt he was the apparent leader of this… whatever it was. Gang?

He crouched in front of me, his face close to mine and cocked to the side. His face was grimy, like he spent most of his time in places like this. I wondered idly whether mine was like that at the moment, or if it would be after a while… unless they killed me first. His hair was shaggy, and clearly had not been cut for a while. It, too, was grimy, adding more brown and black to the messy strands. Although he was fairly young – early thirties, perhaps – he had deep set wrinkles, mainly in between his eyebrows. He didn't really seem a smiley kind of person. But then again, which demon is?

"So Sleeping Beauty wakes." His voice was gravely, but less than I remembered. Or maybe it was because he was talking quietly.

"Uh… yeah…" My head was still pounding, and the light had not helped it in the slightest. Neither had my need for concentration.

"Unusual to see a girl like you wandering round the city." He said, as if it was just an ordinary conversation. Was he unaware of the fact that I was _tied to a pole?_

"Yeah, well… got lost."

"Not the best thing for you to be doing."

"Figured that one out all by myself, thanks."

"Where are you from?"

Think fast! "Just out of town, to the east of the castle."

He smirked, as if he was very pleased to find that out. I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. I did know, however, that he wasn't particularly good looking. The scars were doing nothing for him, and really, tooth brushing would not go amiss.

"Why… why am I here?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"… No." I had a bad feeling I was missing something extremely obvious.

He made a weird coughing sound. It was only after I realised it was meant to be some sort of laugh. "Well, let's just say you'll be staying here for a little bit longer. Till things get… _arranged_." He stood up, reaching to his fairly impressive height.

"How long is a '_little bit longer_', exactly?"

He smirked his ugly smirk again. "I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?"

And promptly blew out the lantern, and locked the door behind him.

**-&-**

It turned out that I couldn't even work out how long I was stuck in this place. The dark clouds, seeming more dark than usual, blocked any real light coming in, so it wasn't clear whether it was night or day. The poor weather had also meant a lot more rain than even this city was used to, and as I was in some sort of basement, this meant a lot of water coming through the tiny window. I just hoped that it wouldn't rain so much as to actually flood this place. As being tied up and locked in a room wasn't exactly the best position to be in if it happened.

My thoughts of the bad weather led me to thinking of Paul. It was one of his freaky powers that his emotions changed the weather. This, ultimately, led to the normal weather being grey and drizzly. But when there were storms around, you knew something was up. And not to go annoy him or something.

So why was it so stormy now? The hopeful side of me was wishing that maybe Paul had noticed I had gone, and was worried. Or maybe angry. Maybe he thought I had ran away or something. Although I would probably never do this, as not only would I get lost (like I did a few days… or weeks… or hours ago, haha… shit), but I would still belong to Paul anyway, so it's not like I could really get away.

Wouldn't he be able to find me, anyway? He had that screen of his – a screen I had used myself, so I knew how it worked and how it was helpful. If he had realised I was missing, he could have used that. He could have tried to find me.

But he hadn't. Maybe he just doesn't care.

My very miserable and self-pitying thoughts were rudely interrupted by one of my kidnappers opening the door and almost blinding me with light.

He placed his lantern on the side, and used the light to find a match so that he could light another one hanging on the wall. Now that my eyes had adjusted, I could see that he was carrying something round and a large jug.

He put the things down on the floor, and knelt in front of me, his face crazily close to mine. Close enough for me to notice that his eyes, as well as celery coloured, also had flecks of light brown in them.

"I am going to untie you, but don't do anything stupid. Got that?"

"Err… sure."

He got even closer (AHHHH!!), and I could feel his chest right up against me (insert more freaking out here) as he did something behind me. It wasn't until he pulled away that I realised my hands were free.

And that there was food and water in front of me.

I rushed into it, forgetting someone was watching, and, in a very un-ladylike fashion, finished eating the bread in front of me in under a minute.

"You sure have an appetite, don't you?"

I glared at him. "Well, pardon _me_ for being a little bit hungry after being locked in a room for god knows how many hours."

He smirked, obviously amused at my behaviour. "I've never seen someone eat so much and never think twice. Well, I've never seen a _human_ do that, anyway. It's almost as if you trust us demons not to poison you or something."

I froze, "It wasn't poisoned, was it?"

"Nah… You're no use to us if you're dead."

Oh, well isn't that a pleasant thought?

But why was I always being kept for some sort of use? First Paul keeping me for some 'use' that Jesse had mentioned. Although not enough for me to actually _know_ what this 'use' was. And then these demons keeping me locked up, but not killing me because I was, apparently, useful.

I just really hoped they weren't planning to keep me for seven years, like a certain someone.

I certain someone who, although I didn't like to think about it, didn't seem to be looking for me.

I was brought back to the conversation by the demon sitting opposite me saying, "So, have a name?"

"Yes. And you care, _why_?"

"For the papers. I need your name on it."

He looked perfectly serious. As if this was a very ordinary thing.

But I was just extremely confused.

"Uhhh… _Whaaaaaat?_"

Then he looked confused. "The papers. For the contract."

This wasn't exactly helping me already confused brain. "… Care to elaborate?"

"The contract I need to put your name on so I can sell you to my client."

* * *

**Oooooooooh, exciting.**

**Actually, I personally hated this chapter, as I had writer's block the whole way through.**

**But I promise the next chapter will be far better. Lots of cool things to happen. :)**

**Please review!**


	12. Insane

**Thanks so much for the reviews! They really keep me writing.**

**And can anyone give me a good name for the kidnapper guy? I'm trying to think of one, but coming up blank. Soooo, if you've got a good name, please tell me. :)**

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…"_The contract I need to put your name on so I can sell you to my client."…_

Chapter XII

I was still in shock. You would be too, if you found out you were about to be _sold._

"Don't tell me you didn't even suspect anything."

My kidnapper was staring at me in disbelief. As if it wasn't normal for girls to be freaked out when they heard that.

"_Clients? Sold? _Sorry, WHAT?" My shock was starting to wear off, and now I was getting pretty angry. I mean, could my life be any more sucky?

"Come on, you're a human. Hanging around in a demon city. It's hardly surprising that you've been taken as a slave."

"WHAT??" My voice was load, almost causing the pipes above me to rattle. "Surprising? Of course it's surprising, I mean, I can't- that's- no way- _SLAVE??_"

I had stood up, and was walking away from him towards one of the walls. He had stood up to, and angled himself between me and the door. "Look, missy, I told you not to do anything stupid-"

He had started to speak, but I ignored him and carried on shouting, with my voice getting hiiiiiiigh. "Slave? You can't just take me as a slave! And you do this often? Do you know how immoral this is? Oh, wait, you're a freakin' DEMON. Demons don't have morals. I mean, I should know-"

He had cut me off with a hand to my mouth. "Would you just SHUT UP?" he shouted the last two words right in my face. I could feel little globules of spit land on me.

Ew. That's just disgusting.

I glared at him under his hand, willing him to take it away. I mean, god knows where it had been. And if it was anything like his _face_, I didn't want to _know_ what kind of germs and grime were on it.

He had now gotten hold of my waist, and had picked me up. This action had meant that he had (finally) let go of my face, so I could scream in protest. I was flailing my arms around, trying to get out of his hold. If I got out of his hold, it wouldn't be hard to run out the door. Maybe there weren't many demons behind it, and I could try and find my way back-

I was interrupted by being thrown onto the floor, so my head hit the pillar. He came down too, to kneel in front of me, as he reached behind me.

"Ergh. You don't have to tie me up again."

His mouth was near my cheek, so I could feel his breath (which stank, by the way) as he spoke. "Yes I do, if you're going to try and escape."

He had finished tying me up, but didn't move from his position. "You know, you could just lock the door. Being tied up kind of sucks."

He made his weird snorting-slash-laughing sound. "I think it's kind of kinky."

Whoa there! That's gross. Really gross. I-don't-even-want-to-GO-there gross. "Eat me."

He smirked, moving so his face was opposite, and his hand was on my thigh. "I'd love to."

My eyes went WIDE, and I was totally freaking out. The hand resting on my thigh started moving upward – yes, UPWARD. To THAT place! If possible, my eyes went even _wider_, and I let out a squeal. Delicate, I know. Embarrassing? Very.

But seriously – EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

His face was getting closer… too close. As soon as his lips touched mine, I snapped. I mean it. I totally and utterly snapped.

I was fed up of people… taking advantage. I hated that I always ended up in stupid positions because I couldn't defend myself. I hated that Paul wasn't trying to save me, that he didn't care. It was like he was giving up, letting fate take its path, just like Jesse. Anyone I depended on had always given up, had let me go. I hated that I was always being _used_, that the only reason I was ever kept around was for some other use, not because anyone _wanted_ me. And the person who I thought _had_ wanted me had given me to a freakin' demon! I hated that my life SUCKED, and that no one CARED, and Abbey probably HATED me, although probably not as much as I hate MYSELF, and that I was about to be sold as a freakin' SLAVE, and be kissed by a disgusting demon who went around KIDNAPPING people…

And then, he was gone. As soon as his lips touched mine, he was off me.

Thank GOD.

He was crouched on the floor by the opposite wall, staring at me incredulously. "No… you can't… not _possible_…"

And then he quickly stood up, grabbed a lantern, and practically _ran_ out, slamming the door behind him.

… What the hell just happened? I was utterly confused. Why was he being so weird? And why did he NEVER make any sense??

I sighed, resting my head back on the pillar.

He could have at least gotten all freaky _before_ he tied me back up…

**-&-**

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), the demon who had hit on me wasn't the only person around. I had figured that whatever the hell happened had scared him off, and now he had sent in others to give me food. And, thank god, untie me.

Well, when I say _untie_, I mean take me off the pole so I could at least lie down properly. But my hands were still tied behind my back.

Which is really uncomfortable, by the way. If I ever got out of this cell, my shoulders were going to be in serious cramp for _weeks._

Oh hum. Sucks to be me, really.

I suppose it could be worse. I mean, at least it's not like there's no one out there who may have the power to free me-

Oh, WAIT A SECOND. Paul doesn't CARE.

Bloody demons.

And do you know how much it sucks to only be able to eat dry bread and water? I mean, the first time was fine. I was completely ravenous.

But by the fifth meal (how many days do you think that counts as?), it was getting tiresome.

Really, really tiresome.

Oh, and another thing to the list of Bad Things Currently Happening To Me – time passes really slowly when you're stuck in a dark room with your hands tied up. There is absolutely nothing to do. And I mean it – NOTHING.

Seriously, the most interesting time of my day is when one of my demon kidnappers comes in to give me food. Because they have to get close to untie me, and then watch me eat in case I 'do anything stupid'. And the look on their faces is incredibly amusing. They watch everything I do, and if I make any sort of movement towards them (like, say, reach for the jug of water), they freak out.

Yeah, REALLY. Demons. Freaking out. Because of ME.

It's quite a skill.

Although, I really don't get why they act so… _frightened._ I mean, these are DEMONS, for god's sake. Why the hell would a _demon_ be scared of little ol' me?

Eh. I never will get demons. So temperamental. Annoying.

Paul was definitely Exhibition A.

But I really didn't get why they were so _touchy_ around me. It also meant that they were being careful around me, and I'm sure the security was up. Which kinda ruined any chances I had of escaping.

_Or of anyone rescuing you._

Erghhhh. Bad, bad thoughts. I hit my head on the wall, trying to knock them out.

I was getting so bored. I was starting to worry about my already diminishing sanity.

After a few hours of wallowing in self-pity, the door creaked open, and in walked a demon carrying bread (ugh) and a jug of water (more ugh).

It wasn't until the lantern was brought closer that I realised that it was the same demon who had hit on me, the one with the celery-coloured eyes.

"Hey, long time no see, ol' buddy, ol' pal!"

There was the proof. I was officially insane.

He grunted, obviously trying to get out of the conversation, and put down my nutritious (NOT) meal. Something told me that he didn't want to be in here, and that some sort of circumstance meant that he couldn't get out of it.

It may have very well been his body language telling me this. Because he was TENSE. And when he untied me, he stayed as far away from me as physically possible.

Huh. Hadn't been like that LAST time…

As I was eating, I noticed that he was sitting far away from me, squirming. What was _with_ this guy? A thought came to my head that maybe he was _embarrassed_ to be around me, considering what happened.

Ha. I _wish_.

Feeling that this meeting was just the tiniest bit awkward, I decided to start conversation.

"So, what's up?"

His eyes flashed to my face, and away again. "Shut up. Just shut up," he muttered, probably not intending for me to hear.

"Aw come on, I'm stuck in here all day. I need conversation, even if it is with a demon. What's going on, anyway? I thought I was meant to be going somewhere."

He was stubbornly looking away, like a sulky child refusing to talk to anyone. It was quite amusing, really, considering his size and all.

"God, you could at least _pretend_ to be happy to be here. Talk about bringing the mood down."

He was still looking away, but now he was fidgeting more. Was I making him uncomfortable? Good.

"You know, you never did get my name. Not that I would tell you. Well, not that I would tell you _correctly_." I smirked at that one – it was definitely true. I would never tell them my true name.

"We don't need it." He was still quiet, but loud enough to be counted as an actual reply. I was actually pretty shocked that he had spoken. But not enough to take in what he was saying.

"Don't _need _it? What about the contract, or whatever? Not that I really want that to happen, but…"

He was still looking at the ground, getting more uncomfortable by the second. "It's not like we can sell you, is it? You're not bloody _normal_. Who would want you?"

I froze, dropping the piece of bread in my hand. "_What_?" My voice was acidic, harsh.

He looked at me, fear evident in his face, and it looked like he about to run for it or something. "No one would want someone like you…"

"EXCUSE ME?" I was getting angry. What the _hell_? No one wanted me? Yeah, I knew that! No one wanted me. Not Jesse. Not my own bloody mother. Not even PAUL, a freaking DEMON. A demon LORD. Not even HE, the lowest of the low on the moral scale, wanted me. I was just one big disaster; no one wanted to get near me. Even my own bloody kidnappers were disgusted, afraid of me.

Said kidnapper was now getting up, moving to the side. He crouched down to pick something up. The look triggered something in me.

… Me, reaching for the pole on the ground, a crazy glint in my eye. Lifting it up above my head…

… Her eyes widened, and she started thrashing and screaming…

… "_No point in doing that. Who's going to hear you, all the way down here?"…_

Isabelle. I was in Isabelle's position, when I attacked her. So many weeks ago…

NO! He was not going to hit me-

"Calm down… Don't get angry…"

Don't get ANGRY? He was going to hit me with a freaking POLE!

I got up, preparing to defend myself. "You were the one who said no one _wanted_ me, you ass," I seethed, crouching down, preparing to move.

"Y-you… sit down!"

"WHY? To make it easier for you to hit me??" I was loud, screaming. I was like a bloody mad woman.

Well. Maybe I WAS.

"J-just calm down…"

"Why do you keep SAYING that?"

He was scared. But defiant. He had the pole ready.

I ducked in time, scrambling around to find my own weapon, but finding nothing. He went to get me again, but I rolled over, out of the way. But as I rolled, I knocked over the jug of water that was in the way. I got up, to get round it, but I stumbled as my foot caught the edge of it, sending it rolling. I managed to get up, but he was ready first. Fast. The pole hit the side of my head with a crack.

I blacked out before I even hit the ground.

**-&-**

I was dreaming. Or was I dreaming? Drifting in and out of consciousness, not understanding what was going on.

But something was going on. There was noise. It sounded far off in the distance, but something was happening.

I tried to focus, to remember how to move, how to see. But it just made things _worse_. My body ached, my head throbbing. It made it so much harder to clear the thick fog binding me.

I could feel something faint on my arm. This was a new sensation, different to the ache. It was soft, and warm. I tried to focus on it, to keep me in this weird stage between unconscious and conscious.

There were more touches. My hands, they were being moved. The sharp pain that was there before was going, replaced with this lovely warm touch that I craved.

And _voices_. A soft voice, a gentle voice, but laced with emotion… pain? Worry? Anxiety? Such a wonderful being shouldn't feel this…

The fog was thinning slowly; I could make out some of what was happening.

"Come on… don't leave me…" I was being shaken slowly, touched more. My face. My arms. Why would I leave? How _could_ I leave?

There were more noises in the distance, but more harsh. Shouting? It was like someone was fighting, and there were growls and smashes… It hurt to hear. I focused on the gentler voice, the angel.

"It's going to be fine… Please, wake up…" So much pain in the voice! But _why_? I wanted to make it better, to stop their pain and worry. But I couldn't. The fog was getting closer.

I was being moved. I could feel pressure around my waist and under my knees. I faintly realised that I was being carried. Carried away from where I was, from the fighting. I started feeling calmer.

Something warm touched my face. Soft, faint. Lips?

"You're safe now…"

I believed the voice. The angel. I let the fog claim me, and drifted away.

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**The last bit was meant to be in the next chapter… but I changed it slightly to put into this chapter, to leave you all wondering who's saved Suze. Muhahaha. :D**

**Please review! And feel free to give me some cool names for the kidnapper guy. I don't think he will **_**get**_** named, otherwise… XD**


	13. Ultimatum

**I'm dedicating this chapter to all my reviewers, especially to _Moondancing Millie_ and _jexseymysterious_ as they had great ideas for names! I've gone with Moondancing Millie's, but the other names were great, too. :)**

**And this chapter's quite long! Yay! Over 3,000 words! That's the first in a looooong time.**

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**Chapter XIII**

My head was pounding. A lot. My shoulder was throbbing, as were my wrists. What happened? Where was I?

Why did I keep waking up in random places with a killer headache??

I tried to remember what happened. I remembered waking up somewhere else… a headache… dripping… dark… dungeon.

I gasped. Demons. Taken. Being hit round the head with a freakin' _pole_. Bread and water for who knew how many days…

"So Sleeping Beauty wakes."

WHOA! That's what he said last time… before he said I was to be a slave…

I sat up in shock, my eyes opening wide.

"Hey, calm down, it's probably best not to be doing stuff for a while…" I focused in on the voice, on the man sitting opposite where I was lying. And I was lying on a _bed_. A real bed! With a mattress! And a cover!

But the man… oh, god… "P-Paul?"

I was confused. How did I get here? And where was that demon?

He smiled softly, but I could still see the worry in his eyes. Maybe he was trying to figure out if I'd damaged anything in my random Crazy Attack.

"How're you feeling?" He was keeping it light, but I could faintly see some emotions lurking in his blue eyes.

"Urm…" I shook out some of my muscles, trying to work out where the pain was. "I'm fine. Just a headache. And- WHAT THE HELL?"

I'd caught sight of my wrists. But they weren't really _wrists_. More like hideous mutant purple skin. They were swollen, with various cuts and scrapes that had obviously been treated, but weren't healed.

He grimaced, placing his hand lightly on one to bring it down, as if he didn't want to see them. Which wasn't exactly surprising. _I_ didn't want to see them, and they were _mine_.

"You were tied up rather tightly after you freaked them out. That caused most of the bruising. The rough rope didn't exactly help, either…" He was trying to keep it clinical, a strictly medical analysis. But I could tell he hated it. Normally I would have pointed this out to embarrass him, but I kept quite. Maybe whatever the nurses put in my system had made me lose my mind. Or maybe it was spending so long in a cell.

Which reminded me… "How… how long was I gone?"

He sighed. "They kept you for a week… Well, about six days, I think."

Wow. That long? No wonder I was so sick of bread and water.

He noticed my lack of response, and continued talking, figuring out that I was just going to keep asking questions anyway. "The demons who took you are part of an illegal group that take any defenceless humans wandering the city," he glared at me then, obviously angry about the fact that I had been breaking several rules at the time I was kidnapped. I looked down, pretending to be interested in the Mutant Wrists. "To sell them to any demons who want them as slaves. We banned this several years ago, after treaties were made with several human cities, but there are still a lot of cases of missing humans.

"Anyway, the demons that took you were hoping to sell you," a brief grimace crossed his face, as if this disgusted him. Obviously he had forgotten that he took my seven years ago, and he didn't even pay anyone for me. "But when you attacked one of the demons, they realised that you were a lot more… _powerful_," he threw a significant look my way, "than you look, and wanted to offer you to the castle instead, at a much higher price. And when they told me, well, I… I hoped it was you." He frowned, and reached over to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. And then he grinned. "Who else could get into so much trouble?" he sat back, getting back to the story. "I rarely went with the guards to retrieve humans, but this time I went with them. And then I saw you in their cell, unconscious…" He was frowning again, and he ran his hand through his hair. "You wouldn't wake up! I was so scared I was too late…" He was frustrated at my inability to wake up when I had been knocked unconscious.

Well _excuse me_! I had been hit by a pole. Really hard!

He focused his eyes back on me, coming closer to cup my face. "God, Suze… I thought I was going to lose you…"

He brow furrowed, and I could see the emotion – the _pain_ – run through his eyes.

And then I remembered what I had thought when I was unconscious. That no angel should have to feel pain. And yet it was Paul who I thought was the angel. Who was so soft, so gentle, so loving…

My thoughts (and Paul's, too, by the look of it) were interrupted by Abbey rushing in and squealing.

"Oh Suze!" She bounded up to my bed, and threw her arms around me. I could see Paul's worried expression, but he calmed when he realised that I was not hurt by this. His expression returned to normal.

"Well, I better get going. I'll speak to you at dinner, Suze." He nodded to me, and then Abbey, and left the hospital ward.

After watching his retreating figure, I turned back to Abbey, who looked elated.

"… Have I missed something?"

"Oh, Suze, you have no idea how worried I was!" She was bouncing up and down on my bed, like a rabbit on drugs. "I mean, I knew of all the dangers in the city, so when I heard you were missing I was so worried that someone had taken you and – WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THE CITY ON YOUR OWN??"

She had stopped bouncing. And was now right in my face. "Err… I think…" I tried to remember why the hell I was in the city on my own. "I was… I was looking for you! To apologise about what I had done, and to tell you…"

I stopped when I saw her incredulous face. "WHAT? _Why_?"

"Well, I wanted to make it up to you, and tell you-"

"Couldn't you have just found me when I came to work? You could have seen me when you came to the baths…"

Then she cracked up. No, seriously, she just burst out laughing. I was worried she was going into hysterics or something… "Abbey? What's so funny?"

She laughed even more, and then pointed at me. "… What?"

I was getting worried. What was wrong with my face? Was something on my face?

"God, talking about the baths, it looks like you need one. When was the last time you washed your hair?"

She was still laughing, but was composed enough to touch my hair lightly, and scrunch her nose up in disgust.

I groaned. "Is it really that bad?"

She grinned. "Very. Come on, let's take you there. I think you could use some relaxing oils, too."

I couldn't hide my excitement at that, so after a final check by the nurse, we went down to the baths so I could finally get clean.

Abbey was right – my hair was a complete mess. The nurses had done their best with my face (thank God I never saw THAT), but my hair was full of grime and grease.

The oils had also done a wonderful job with my muscles. I felt clean, relaxed, and my head had stopped aching. My wrists were also clearing up nicely, and looked like they may be more normal within a few days.

I was fairly pleased about that.

It had also been nice to talk to Abbey again. I hadn't realised just how much I _missed_ her. She was my one true friend, and always lightened my mood. Which hadn't been particularly great recently.

I also managed to talk to her about Jesse and the blood necklace (which she seemed very intrigued about, but I assured her that nothing was going to happen), and filled her in on what happened. Well, that I knew of. I didn't know what happened here at the castle, or while I was unconscious.

"Everyone was so worried about you," she had said when I asked what happened. "You should have seen Paul – I've never seen him so angry! And that's saying something." I nodded, knowing how Paul could get so crazy sometimes. "But he wasn't just angry… he wasn't angry at _you_ – well, okay, probably a little bit because you totally broke the rules," she smiled mischievously at this point, making it clear that although she was annoyed that I had gone on my own, she still liked the fact that I was breaking the rules again. "He was angry at whatever had taken you. It was like he _knew_ it wasn't your decision. Or maybe he's just so full of himself that he couldn't possibly imagine you wanting to run away." She laughed then, but I didn't join with her. I knew why he thought that – he had the screen. He would have known where I was.

She noticed that I wasn't exactly joining in the conversation, so she decided to end the subject on conversation. "Well, you'll see Paul later, anyway. I think you're having dinner with him." I groaned, but she tried to ignore me. "Now, let's go see what dress you can wear…"

**-&-**

Abbey had decided that I should wear my black dress (out of, like, five hundred black dresses). But this one was beautiful – there was a slight silvery shimmer to the fabric, and the bodice had intricate patterns woven in. And this dress had a light feel to it, much better than some of the things I had worn in the past. My hair had been let loose, with my natural slightly curly hair falling around my shoulders, with a tiny silver hair comb positioned in just the right place.

I walked into the dining room (empty, as usual, apart from the large table in the middle. And Paul, of course), after being escorted by Abbey and another maid. All the extra attention was going to annoy me, but I let it slide for the time being – the last time I had been alone didn't exactly end that well, and people were just being over cautious. Or maybe they were just under Paul's orders.

Paul stood up to meet me, and everyone else in the room left, leaving us on our own.

Why did that make my heart start beating _really_ fast?

"Suze, you look lovely, as always." He came to help me sit (not that I needed help, but whatever), and then he went to his own seat opposite.

"Err… thanks. I probably look better than I did earlier – I finally got to wash my hair."

He smiled, but to be polite. His eyes were slightly tight in anger. "Yes, you did. And who let you leave the hospital room?"

Oh maaaan. "One of the nurses."

"And you of course didn't feel that I should be told?"

"Well, it's not like you could come join me. I mean, I wouldn't put it past you, but-"

"Didn't you realise that I might come back to the room to see how you were doing, only to realise that you _weren't there_? After you've just been missing for the last week-"

"Six days." It sounded a lot less pathetic than a week.

He still ignored me, however.

"I didn't exactly want to come back and find you missing again."

He looked exhausted. And his recent outburst hadn't helped his stressed-and-depressed look. Well, unless he was aiming for it.

"Well, I'm sorry, but it was a bit of an emergency. Come on, you saw my hair."

He smiled then, and tried to suppress his laughter. "It wasn't… that bad."

"That bad? It was disgusting! It took five washes to get all that grime out of it!"

He laughed out loud then, obviously finding my vanity and disgust amusing. Humph. He was male; he wouldn't truly understand the horror.

I made a noise of distaste, and picked up my knife and fork. Oooh, vegetables! Meat! REAL FOOD!!

After tucking in and eating pretty much anything and everything I could find on the plates in between us, I heard a noise. A very distinct throat clearing noise coming from Paul's direction. After a few more mouthfuls and a gulp of wine – WINE! NOT WATER! -, I looked up to see what the hell he wanted.

He was smirking at me, trying to hold his laughter in again, amusement very clear in his eyes. "Hungry?"

"Oh, shut up. I've been living on bread and water for the last week-"

"Six days." He repeated back at me.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted at him in annoyance, and went back to my food. Ooooh, graaaaaavy…

"Bread and water? It's not so bad, at least they were giving you _something_…"

I put down my knife and fork, finally finishing my meal. My stomach hurt from all the food, but I really didn't care. At least I wasn't hungry anymore.

"Yeah, bread and water. Not bad at all. WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW? Have YOU ever been kidnapped? HAVE YOU? God, you have no idea what it's like, so don't say to me 'it's not so bad'. Besides, if they wanted me for a slave, they wouldn't want to kill me, would they?" I remembered what the kidnapper had said, after I asked if the food was poisoned. He said there was no point in killing me.

"Hmmm, I suppose you're right." He nodded in agreement. "They would have gotten more money from me if they'd have tried to sell you to me alive."

I sighed, and then started picking at the left over food. I was trying to recollect my thoughts and emotions – now I was free after being locked up for so long, it was if my mind was finally free, too. Little things seemed to keep setting me off, like I was a time bomb waiting to happen.

After a few minutes of deep breathing and calming down, I felt that I should ask the questions that had been bothering me. "What happened to the demons, then? After the guards caught them?"

His face relaxed once I started speaking, as if he had been waiting impatiently for me to do something other than stare at my plate. "They've been taken to one of the high security cells. They're in questioning at the moment, I think. We're trying to find other seekers as well as imprisoned humans."

"Is that what they're called? Seekers?"

"Yeah, they search for anyone who is vulnerable enough to be taken as a slave. Mainly humans. Fiero – that was your seeker's name – is quite a good one. We barely knew he existed, let alone that he took hundreds a year."

"Fiero?"

"Uh… yeah…"

I burst out laughing. "Have you _seen_ him? Well, never would have thought he would have had a name like that. Sounds like some sort of Italian stud."

He laughed. "Well, I don't know, I thought you might go for that sort of thing. Find romance in your demon kidnapper."

I made a disgusted face. "Erm, no. I mean, when he tried to kiss me-"

"He WHAT?" His fist slammed on the table, and his eyes were WIDE. I was guessing it was a mixture of shock and anger. I guess he didn't believe his statement to be remotely true.

"Whoa, down boy."

His groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Why do you care, anyway? I mean, you've got your little Isabelle now – why would it matter to you who I do or do not fall in love with?"

He groaned again, massaging his temples. "God, Suze, would you please drop that issue-"

"No! I won't! Because it's totally unfair! I mean, I don't see why you can't just let me go and…" My mind went down a different track, as I remembered my thoughts from earlier in the day. "Was that what you were trying to do?"

He looked up in confusion. "What?"

"You were… you were trying to lose me!" I shouted in indignation.

"Suze, what the hell are you on about? You're here, aren't you?"

"Yeah, because the demons told you where I was! Not because you came to _find _me! I was there for six days! That's _six whole days_ you had to find me, and yet there was nothing. NOTHING! I would have though with that screen of yours you were able to find anything or any_one_ you wanted. And yet you couldn't even put a little bit of effort into finding me?"

"Look, Suze, you don't understand. The screen doesn't work like that-"

"I've used it myself! I understand perfectly well! I mean, what, were you just focusing on Isabelle instead? Whoa, let's forget the person who's been imprisoned here for SEVEN BLOODY YEARS, who is in mortal peril, about to be sold as a freakin' SLAVE, let's just go search some more for that pretty little girl who probably has a better chance of agreeing to sleep with you!"

"Suze! Stop it! You don't know-"

"No, YOU stop it! Figure out what you want – her or me. Don't keep making excuses to pretend you care. Because I have had it up to HERE-" I put my hand up above my head to illustrate my point. "And I am SICK of it!" I blew out in a big gust, hoping that all my angry thoughts would go with it. Then I placed my napkin on the side and stood up, trying not to look directly at Paul's tortured expression.

"Goodnight, Paul. See you later." Then I paused. "Or not."

And walked out of the room.

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**Oooooh, who's Paul going to choose? I know! :D**

**And I put loads of clues at to what's coming up in later chapters in here, too. :D**

**Review! Please? :)**


	14. No Regrets

**Please don't kill me for this.**

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Chapter XIV

I sat at my window seat, overlooking the city beneath me. It was dark, so I could only make out the lights from some of the buildings. Sometimes the moon would have given a faint glow so I could make out figures, but tonight the sky was thick with clouds. The rain was heavy, sometimes splattering the glass of the window when the wind suddenly changed direction.

I sighed, placing my head on my knees. I was trying to get my head around what had happened throughout the last 24 hours.

One, I had been saved by Paul (and his demon guards) from a group of men planning to sell me.

Two, I had woken up from unconsciousness in a random hospital ward in the castle, to find Paul sitting beside me. And then have Abbey walk in and point out just how disgusting my hair really was. Which led to lots of girlie things.

Three, I had had dinner with Paul, which then ended up with me going crazy and shouting at him for trying to lose me.

Which may or may not be true.

And then I ended up giving him the ultimatum of Isabelle or me.

Which kinda screws me up a bit. Why oh why had I said that?? And gone all crazy? Because now, although I didn't really like to admit it, Paul was going to get Isabelle first chance he could, and send me packing.

Now where the hell do I go?

I had already realised that I am stuck with nowhere to go – no one wanted me. I KNEW that! So why the hell did I practically give Paul the go ahead for chucking me?

Oh man. I need to learn to think before I speak.

So now I was sitting and wallowing in my room, pondering over whether I should just leave and find somewhere before I have no choice. Maybe Jesse wouldn't actually mind me staying… for a few days. While I got things sorted. I mean, he does kind of owe me one, considering if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have even BEEN here for the last seven years.

Usually, this thought would have made me angry. And upset.

But now? I felt like all of my emotions were mixed up. I wasn't upset, or angry, or even a little bit irritated. I felt like I was blaming myself for what happened. That maybe I should have done something to sort out my life, rather than put it into the hands of a temperamental demon.

My emotions were turning dangerous. I had no grip on them anymore. There's no doubt in whether they were going to make me do something incredibly stupid – again.

I picked at the hem of my nightdress, turning my thoughts back to other issues. For one, not only had I put myself in trouble for giving Paul the ultimatum, but I had also put Isabelle in danger. After I promised her that I would help her out. And how was I helping out exactly? Time and time again I would make mistake after mistake. And how could I help her out when Paul had chucked me out of the kingdom?

I groaned. Things were not going well.

There was a knock on my door. Before I had the chance to tell whoever it was to leave me alone, in walked Paul, who shut the door forcefully behind him.

"Suze, for God's sake, please hear me out."

"What the hell are you doing in my room? Get out!" Did I fail to mention that I was in a nightdress? A really THIN one?

"Look, Suze, I haven't been trying to _lose you_. Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you're AFTER ANOTHER GIRL?"

He groaned, knocking a hairbrush off my dresser. In the back of my mind, I remembered that it was the same hairbrush that William had knocked over that one time. Huh.

"Shut up! I don't have another option – I'm running out of time, Suze! I need a queen, and you haven't exactly been willing. But that doesn't mean that I don't care that you live or die! And for your information, I had been looking every minute of every day for you! I had been going out of my mind, trying to find where the hell you were. So don't you DARE accuse me of not looking for you."

He had now come dangerously close to me, so we were almost touching. His anger had caused a storm outside, and the wind was howling loudly, bolts of lightening shining the room.

"But… the screen…" I said, in a small voice.

"The screen can only work so well. It's not really an exact science. The room you were in was so much like all the others… everything was the same! I couldn't pinpoint where you were, so we had to keep waiting." He stalked around the room now, not looking at me. He kept talking, almost as if I wasn't even there. "God, I had been going out of my mind. I pretty much sent all the guards I had on the lookout for you – but no one got anything. I was going insane, having to wait for some sort of sign, but having to see you so… vulnerable. Locked up, and surrounded by so many dangerous demons that wouldn't think twice about killing you… I was so scared… so scared they were going to hurt you…"

His little speech had left me stunned. He really… cared that much?

"But why were you trying to find me?" He was about to cut in, but I stopped him. "No, I know that you didn't exactly want me dead, but why bring me back… here? I mean, if you're going after Isabelle, then why do I need to keep being here, locked up?"

"You're not locked up-"

"Really? Is that why I can't go anywhere on my own?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, that's just because it's dangerous. Look what happened! You've found out for yourself what happens when you wander the city alone. That's why I banned you from doing so – because I didn't want to risk it."

"Alright, fine. So if I'm not locked up, why do I need to be here? Why not let me go somewhere else entirely, away from demons, and just go get Isabelle?"

He groaned, annoyed that I had brought up Isabelle again. But then he looked down, almost ashamed to answer. He needed prompting.

"Well?"

He sighed, still not looking up at me. "It's entirely selfish… I just…" He was still reluctant to answer, but realised that I wasn't going to let him out easy. "I couldn't bear it if you left. I know what's happening, and what's going to happen, with Isabelle is wrong, and I wish I didn't _have_ to do it, but I do, Suze. I need a queen, and she's the only chance I've got. And… well, I just wished it were you, Suze. If everything went out the way they were planned to, you would be my queen, and none of this would have happened. But I understand that, I understand you don't want to." He looked up then, hoping for me to interrupt. Well, I sure wasn't going to tell him that I wanted to be queen. He realised this, and looked away again, this time towards the small fireplace. "But I just couldn't let you go. As much as I want you to be happy, I can't let you go. Selfish, I know. But hey, I'm a demon." He tried to crack a smile, but it turned into a grimace.

"Do you want me around just for your sake, or because I have some use?"

He looked at me then, so I could see his vulnerable expression. He was letting his guard down. "No, Suze, not at all. I know it's incredibly selfish of me-"

"Damn right it's selfish! I have no real use here. Well, I have no use anywhere, but I can't just stay around for no reason."

"I know that, I do. But if you left…"

"You'd have more chance to get to your Izzy, with no worries of me interfering. I mean, she's more willing to be queen, I'm sure she'll be willing to sleep with you as well-"

"God, Suze, don't…" He furrowed his brow, looking out the window behind me. "I wouldn't… I couldn't… Not now I…"

"Not now you what, Paul?" Is it just me, or was this conversation getting a little uncomfortable? "It's not like you haven't slept with anyone before. I'm sure it wouldn't exactly be difficult for you-"

"Of course it would!" He took two strides towards me, getting close to me. His face was angry, and it took all I had not to step back. "How could I even _kiss_ another girl when I'm in love with YOU?"

… What now?

Before I had the chance to even _think_ about what he had said, his lips were on mine, all of his anger, frustration, and passion pouring out of him. His hands, which were resting on my arms, had now grabbed hold of my waist, and roughly pulled me towards him. As I was stunned by this sudden turn of events, my mind couldn't concentrate on what was happening. My hands had wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling him closer, so our bodies were fusing together.

The bolts of lightening outside had nothing to the power surging through me from the kiss. It was so forceful, so passionate, that I almost forgot how to think; I could only focus on the strong hands wrapped around me, and the moving lips on mine.

_Almost_. After a while (a very… long while), my mind started whirring again, kicking into action.

"Paul, what-"

He had stopped as well, due to my movement away from him, so he was panting. He pulled me closer to him again. "Stop talking. Stop thinking."

"Okay."

And then his lips were on mine again, and I forgot about all those thoughts I had telling him to stop. I did what he said – I let my mind stop wandering, and focused in on what Paul was doing. He had thrown me on my bed, so his body was resting upon mine. It felt so wrong, so intimate, so _dangerous_…

I shouldn't let this go on. It could only hurt me later.

But when it felt like this?

_I didn't care if it was wrong anymore. _

**-&-**

I groggily opened my eyes to find a faint ray of sunshine beaming directly into my face.

Huh. That's odd. Sun? Hadn't seen that in a long time, even if it wasn't overly bright.

And why was it on my face? Someone mustn't have closed the curtains last night.

I turned over, trying to get my eyes out of the sun. To find part of a body. Paul's body, to be exact.

He was looking just as tired as I felt, his eyes not fully adjusting to the morning light. I'm betting the sun didn't help his attempt either.

"Good morning."

I was in shock.

What. The hell. Did I do. Last night.

Then the memories came back full-force, and I finally understood why Paul was in my bed. Naked.

Oh craaaaaaaaaap.

"…Hi."

This wasn't going well.

He smirked, looking smug. Oh, kill me now. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine." I squeaked back. Was I fine? I subtly tried to shake out my muscles. Physically, I was okay. A little sore maybe (let's not go into THAT one…), but fine. Mentally? Well, I had just slept with someone I had always said I hated, and although I should probably hate myself right now (or hate Paul), I felt somewhat… at peace? It was as if something finally fell into place, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I'm not going to go over the top cliché and say I feel _complete_, or anything, but I definitely felt something…

And it really wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

"Good." He took a final look at me, now I had positioned myself more onto my back, and relaxed. Any smirk on his face had disappeared, replaced by this new slightly vulnerable expression that I had had a glimpse of last night. He sighed. "Good."

We were both staring at the ceiling, lying next to each other. I didn't really think that this was the socially acceptable way of behaving after what we had done last night, but I really didn't know what WAS the right thing to do after two people… you know.

But after giving him something precious last night, I wanted a few more minutes at least to think to myself.

I mentally went over what had happened last night. I had gone all crazy after my emotions had gotten the best of me, and shouted at Paul. More shouting. And then Paul getting all crazy too. Him kissing me. More kissing. Lots of kissing. And… other stuff.

I _knew_ I would do something stupid if I let my emotions get the better of me. I mean, look at what happened!

But… was it really that stupid? Or wrong? I mean, technically, we were meant to be married already. Is it really that surprising that this happened, or was this always going to happen? And fate just had a very weird way of making its course?

Paul cleared his throat. "Suze… _please_ tell me what you're thinking."

I turned my face to the side, to see him staring at me with desperation in his eyes. "I'm just… thinking that… Well…" Oh man. Just form a goddamn sentence. "Was this wrong?"

I was blushing, embarrassed by my stupid question (yeah, you really sounded 23 THERE, idiot). His face was slightly shocked at first, but then he looked slightly… sad. Like he was upset by my question.

"No, Suze, this wasn't…" he sighed. It seemed he was having as much difficulty as I was at forming a sentence. He turned towards me more, so he was staring right in my eyes, like he was reading them. "This wasn't _wrong._ Please don't think that. I don't want you to… _regret_ what happened."

"Regret?" I realised that I hadn't felt that, neither last night nor this morning. "I don't think I… regret it. I just… can't help feeling that maybe it was a mist-"

I was cut off by Paul practically throwing himself on me, covering my mouth with his hand. "Don't say that!" He was almost shouting at me, with his face very close to mine, hovering above me.

"But don't you think we shouldn't have-" I mumbled, but he cut me off, knowing what I was trying to say.

"No, Suze. This wasn't a mistake. This wasn't _wrong_. Please don't think that." His eyes were pleading with; he was truly upset that I had thought this. "Last night was… God, it was the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't regret it."

I looked up at him, stunned by his words. I remembered some of the words he had said to me last night. He told me he loved me.

And how could I regret something that made him so happy, when he loved me?

"I don't." I mumbled around his hand. He smiled, relaxing, and settled back into his laying position.

I turned slightly, and moved so I could lay my head on his chest, and wrapped an arm around his waist. He too wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him more. If someone had told me that I would do this voluntarily a few weeks – hell, even days – ago, I wouldn't have believed them. But now? It just felt to _natural_ to be held by him, to be wrapped in each other's arms.

I had a vague flashback of the ball that I had attended, which felt like so many months ago… When Paul and me had danced together, and I couldn't help but think how _right_ and _safe_ it felt when I was in his arms.

And then after… Kissing Jesse…

I couldn't let myself kiss him. I had been worried about Paul hurting him, hurting me. But was it just that?

All I could think of when I was kissing him was Paul. How Paul would react if he found out. If he was watching. I wasn't thinking all that much on what it really felt like, what it was like to be with _Jesse_.

And then I couldn't let Jesse break that blood necklace. Because I couldn't let Jesse risk the safety of his kingdom? Or because I really just didn't want him to?

But why not? At the time, Paul was fixated on finding Isabelle. I was aware of that; I knew that I was going to be in danger when Paul took her. It was my chance to be free, to leave the castle.

And I couldn't let him do it.

Maybe I had been stuck in this place for so long, I felt like I couldn't leave. Although I didn't truly belong here, it was the one place that felt like _home_. But was it this place, or Paul?

Paul had always been so caring towards me, but I always tried to ignore it. But I couldn't deny the fact that I depended on him. Maybe not in the early stages, but certainly recently. I only really realized this when I was being held in the dungeons – the only person I wanted to come rescue me was Paul. I needed him the most.

And then when the demon started hitting on me, I had been so disgusted. Looking back, maybe it wasn't because I thought he was taking advantage. I think that, mainly, the reason was that it felt so disgusting because it wasn't _Paul_.

Something Paul had said was ringing in my mind.

…"_Find romance in your demon kidnapper"…_

Oh my god.

I was in love with Paul.


	15. Interruption

**Thanks so much for the reviews for last chapter!**

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Chapter XV**

I hadn't moved since my realisation. I felt… numb. I just couldn't believe what I had just – _finally_ – realised, and that, no matter how hard I tried to deny it, it was true. I really did love Paul.

Said demon was still lying next to me, tracing patterns on my back. It was soothing… if a little ticklish.

I giggled.

"Are you _trying _to tickle me?"

I looked up from where my head lay on his chest, to find him grinning down at me. "Maaaaaybe. Is it working?"

I sniffed. "No."

His grin spread further across his face, and his eyes sparkled in mischief. "Oh, really? So it's not ticklish _at all_ when I do THIS?"

And with that, he lay on top of me, and mercilessly tickled my sides. I was gasping, trying to get him to stop, but we were both laughing so hard I could barely form a word.

After he had been laughing too hard to carry on, he rolled off of me, clutching his stomach to prevent his laughing fits.

"You… are evil." I said, trying to catch my breath.

He beamed at me, showing his bright white teeth. "Demon."

"Ergh." I groaned, untangling myself from the bed sheets, and moving to get up. Until a hand grabbed my arm.

"Where are you going?" Paul asked, crestfallen.

"Err… to shower?"

He smirked. "Wanting to wash something off, are we?"

I blushed, trying to shake him off. "Gross, Paul!"

He laughed, wrapping his arms around my waist, and pulling me back down on the bed. His hands didn't release me – instead, he held on to me tighter, and nuzzled his face into my neck. His hands didn't feel restrictive, like they used to. They felt _comforting_.

I could really get used to this.

"I don't know what you'd need a shower for," he said, breathing in deeply. "You smell divine."

What do you say to that? No, really, _what_?

"Uh… thanks…"

Um, can we say AWKWARD?

He sighed, kissing my neck where he'd been nuzzling, before moving slightly so I could feel his breath on my hair. It tickled. And like earlier, when he had been touching my back so lightly, it was a _nice_ tickle. I got all these fuzzy feelings inside.

Whoa. Where the hell did Suze go?

God. I was officially a pile of goo.

It was so easy to forget that Paul was a demon. And that I was stuck in a castle of demons. All I could think about was Paul, and what had happened, and how lovely it felt to be held by him…

Well, it wasn't _all _I could think about. After a few minutes of bliss, I just had to say what was nagging at me.

"Paul?" I asked tentatively.

"Hmmmmm?"

"What… what's going to happen now?"

He mumbled something incoherent, and then he sighed. "Stop worrying."

I wanted to. I wanted to just enjoy this (whatever THIS was), and not have to think about all of those other things. But I just couldn't help it! My ponderings on what the future held now were just… nagging me.

"I can't, Paul. What if-"

"No 'what if''s." he said, turning further onto his side so he was staring straight at me. I turned too, a worried expression etched onto my face. "Everything-" he kissed my nose, "is going-" then my forehead, "to be fine." Finally reaching my lips, he pulled me closer, and then rolled us over so he was on top.

After a few minutes of mind-numbing bliss, I managed to get some coherency of thought. "But-"

"No 'but's either." He smiled, amused at my trying to get a point across but failing miserably due to his amazing kissing expertise.

It wasn't so bad to forget my worries and enjoy the ever-increasingly passionate kiss. Wait, wasn't so bad?! It was amazing. Wonderful. His hands were roaming my body (which was still naked, might I add. Eep!), drawing out embarrassing moans from me. It really was heaven, smack in the middle of hell.

But that hell part was still tormenting me.

I think there was something wrong with my brain.

Paul noticed after a while that I wasn't reciprocating as much. He knew I had something on my mind. He pulled back slightly and groaned.

"Suze, please." He looked at me, his eyes pleading. It was quite amusing, actually. He kind of looked like a five year old wanting an ice cream. Especially with the pout.

"But what's going to happen now? Because of this?" I blurted out, "I mean, it's alright for you, you'll be fine no matter what. I mean, you'll still have a place to live-"

"Would you like to be my queen?" He asked, looking straight into my eyes.

… Oh… God… Would I like to be? I mean, okay, so I kind of slept with him, but that didn't mean I wanted to be _queen_. There were some responsibilities, and I'd actually have to _attend_ those bloody balls and other events. And, most of all, I'd officially – _really_ officially, not just with that necklace – be with Paul. No going back.

Did I trust him enough for that?

"I… I don't know if I can be, Paul."

He sighed, leaning on one elbow, so he could use his other hand to brush some rebellious hair off my face. "I know, Suze. I understand. Maybe… maybe we can make this work. I mean, I'm sure it won't be _so_ bad if I put off a wedding for a few years… or never have one at all…"

I felt incredibly guilty. Would the kingdom be at a disadvantage because of me? Just because I couldn't wear a wedding ring, and say "I do" to a man who I pretty much already loved? Would it really be that bad?

I couldn't decide. Everything was just so… sudden.

"I just need time," I said, tracing the features on his face. "It's one thing to get used to _this_-" I waved my hand, indicating that I meant the whole him and me thing, "but another thing entirely to be a _queen_."

He nodded. "I guess I can understand that." He leant into my hand, which was resting on his cheek, and closed his eyes. I'd never seen him look so peaceful, and…_ happy_. Then he smiled, and opened his eyes, which were shining brightly. "Does this mean I can still buy you pretty things?"

I laughed. "Oh, sure. I'd love some diamonds, an exotic island, a golden pony…"

He laughed too, nudging my neck with his nose. "Oh, mock me why don't you. Any normal girl would jump to the opportunity of having a king buy them everything they ever wanted…"

"Since when have I been normal?"

"Hmmm… true. You are slightly insane, it must be said."

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically.

He grinned at me like a cheshire cat. "Does it sound better when I say that you're a _beautiful_ insane person?"

"Hmmmm… Maybe." I said, trying to sound blasé.

"What could I do to make it up to you?" He asked, still smiling.

"Well…" I said, pretending to be deep in thought. "A golden pony DOES sound tempting…"

"Oh, HILARIOUS, Suze." He said, before pinning my to the bed and tickling me. We were in fits of hysterics, rolling around on the bed, trying to get the other to surrender first. After a while we both gave up, too out of breath from out crazy laughing to carry on. We laid on the bed, and I rested my head on Paul's chest again.

We were lying comfortably together, talking about trivial things. Paul, being Paul, made plenty of innuendos, but conversation and just _being_ together was comfortable. More comfortable than I'd have ever thought possible. We had never particularly gotten along – especially in the beginning -, but somehow being so intimate last night had erased all the boundaries. Paul wasn't just some demon who kidnapped me when I was just sixteen. He was a person, who really did care about me. I couldn't ignore that.

After almost an entire morning of talking and errr… _other_ things, there was a knock on the door.

"Go away." Paul grumbled.

After another minute, there was another knock.

"Paul." I said, trying to move him off me. "This _is_ my room. It might be for me." Doubtful, certainly – it was only Paul who really sent people for me. And he was here, with me.

"Alright, fine, fine…" He got out of bed, smirked at my gawking at his naked body, and put on a robe. When he opened the door to a guard I didn't recognise, Paul's happy expression changed to that of pure business. Obviously, the vulnerable and caring side he showed to me could not be seen by the other demons.

They talked quietly to each other, so I couldn't pick up what they were saying. But suddenly Paul turned around, and without looking at me, said emotionlessly, "Excuse me Suze, I'll just be a minute."

And then he closed the door behind him.

Okay. Curiosity peaking here. Okay, okay, lots of kingdom business to do. But why was it suddenly so private? I mean, it's not like I didn't know most of what was going on. Not only did the maids get gossip, but also sometimes Paul shared information with me. It wasn't like I was completely unaware of everything. What could be so private?

I could still hear mumbling outside, showing that they were still talking. Although the volume had increased a lot (was Paul angry at something? The clouds were certainly darkening), the thickness of the large wooden doors and the stone walls weren't allowing me to hear their private conversation.

Sighing, I got up. I was still slightly sore, but I figured a warm bath would probably help. Maybe I'd have to go down to the baths.

… Possibly at a time when Abbey WASN'T there. I really didn't think that telling her what happened last night so soon would be a good thing. Things needed to settle first.

I decided that for the time being, a hot shower would have to do. The steam and hot water certainly relaxed my muscles, and helped to ease the worries I was having earlier, as well as the new worry over what Paul was talking to one of the guards about.

After changing into a simple sheer black dress, I came out of the bathroom.

Paul was pacing around my bedroom, his fingers held to his temples. As soon as he heard the door open, he looked up. Yep, his guard was back up.

"I have to go."

"What? Why?"

He looked pained, and looked out the window. I walked up to him, putting my hands in his. "Paul, what's going on?"

His eyes turned to mine. His expression was tortured. What could possibly have happened? My heartbeat was racing – something bad had happened. It was a rare time that _Paul_ looked stressed.

"Isabelle's been found."

I let go of him quick as lightening. "What?" It came out breathy – I was panicking. My mind was swimming with thoughts, but I managed to gain some coherency. "You said that you could find her when YOU wanted to! Why…? How could you-"

My voice was rising, in pitch and volume. I really wasn't great at keeping composure.

Paul cut me off. He had his hands on the tops of my arms, trying to calm my panicked thoughts. "Suze, William gave her over-"

"You're lying!" I stepped away, pushing his hands off me. I was shouting now. I was angry at Paul. Angry at _myself. _"William would never do that – he loved her!"

"Yes, well Jesse loved you too, but-"

I gasped. "How DARE you-!"

He cut me off again, trying to get himself heard. "The demons had been stalking him – he knew it was only a matter of time, anyway. They were both in danger. I don't know the full story, but-"

"Stop lying to me! You said that you controlled the guards-"

"Only ones from my own kingdom!" He blew out a gust of breath – he was stressed. He ran hand through his hair. "There are demons out there that aren't fully under my control. They're not _supposed_ to stalk humans, but they _did_. Obviously it had gotten out of control, and now Isabelle is in a cell downstairs."

"And now you're going to go marry her, right?" I asked stonily, glaring at him.

He sighed, frustrated. "Look, I have to go sort this out. I'm sorry – you have no idea how sorry I am-"

"Save it. Just go."

His expression was getting more and more tormented. "Suze, please. I'll come back-"

"No. Just leave." I was keeping my voice calm, void of emotion. But inside I was seething. And breaking.

He walked towards me, trying to get closer. "Suze, I-"

"GET OUT!" I shouted at him, pushing him with all my force away from me. He was _not_ getting any closer to me. Not now.

With one last look of pain towards me, he walked out and closed the door behind him.

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Didn't think I'd just leave it all fluffy till the end, did you? XD

_**PLEASE READ:**_** In a few chapters time, I'm going to start rounding things up a bit. So before I start writing down what I need to clear up, I just want to know if anyone has any questions. So if you want to know something more about the characters in this universe, or maybe come clarity on a plotline, please ask me in a review! I'll either fit it into the story or put it into an author note later.**

**Thanks, and please review!**


	16. Not Alone

**_PLEASE READ_: I'm on holiday next week, so there'll be no update next Monday. I also have no time to write between now and when I leave, so the next update will have to be in two weeks. Sorry!**

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**Chapter XVI**

After Paul had left, I collapsed on the floor. The tears were flowing, and I didn't try to stop them. I wrapped my arms around myself, as if it was the only way to hold myself together. But inside everything was coming apart.

How could I have been so stupid? I had kidded myself into believing that Paul cared, and I was so insecure that I had to focus on that. And I focused on it so much I ended up fooling myself that Paul loved me – and that I had loved him _back_.

But he seemed so genuine…

Ergh. Demon! He was the lord of demons – was it any surprise that he had lied? That's all he ever did! Why was this one lie – the one that could tear me apart, as was being proven right now – the one that I actually believed?

The rain was coming down heavily, mirroring the tears running down my face. The clouds were now so dark it made my room as dark as it would be in night.

The weather really did reflect my broken heart.

I couldn't believe that I had given him something so _precious_ - my body, my soul. And he had now thrown it back in my face. It wouldn't matter to him anymore. He had a new queen – he couldn't ignore the fact that she was downstairs, waiting. Why would he bother with someone who wasn't even willing to help the kingdom, when there was someone else available?

That other person being Isabelle. Why would William give her over? This couldn't be true – Paul must have been lying. Why would he give her over? It's not like he had a kingdom to protect, like Jesse. Was he really that weak?

Something in the back of my mind was telling me that I should feel empathy for Isabelle. I knew what she was going through. But I couldn't feel that for her. I _hated_ her. It was all her fault! She was just someone else who tore someone I thought I loved from me. And I couldn't ignore the _jealousy_, pure and strong, running through my veins. She got to be in the position that I had wanted only an hour before – maybe not as queen, but to be by Paul's side. I had _wanted_ that. And she had taken it from me, despite the fact that she didn't want to.

But maybe I didn't want that. Maybe I didn't want to be by Paul's side. But I had certainly fooled myself into believing I had.

Was there any point in helping out Isabelle? Did I _want_ to? I felt that I should, certainly, but was it for my sake or hers?

And what was going to happen to me now? Paul said that he was coming back. Not that I wanted him to now, although whether I should believe that I wasn't sure. If he was coming back, did it mean he still wanted me? Or did he mean that he was going to come back to sort things out with me? Maybe tell me where I was being taken to, away from the castle. I mean, why would I need to be here?

The tears were constant – there was no use in trying to stop them. My heart was aching; there was only so much heartbreak a girl could take.

After a while (how long, I wasn't sure. The thick, black clouds weren't allowing any light in to show what time of day it was. I certainly was not getting up to look at the clock), the door creaked open. At first I panicked, thinking that it might be Paul. I did not want him seeing me like this.

But when I heard a, "Oh, Suze!" and felt arms wrap around me, I knew that it was Abbey.

I cried harder. I… I had wanted it to be Paul! To be comforted by the man I had thought I loved. I felt guilty – Abbey was being a good friend, and was comforting me without any questions. But I didn't want _her_; I wanted the man who broke my heart. Again.

I was seriously messed up.

She was rubbing my back, trying to soothe me. My crying had slowed slightly, and obviously Abbey had thought that I was ready for some questions.

"Suze, I heard about Isabelle. What happened?" Her frown was creased. She was concerned for me.

"William. He gave her over."

"Oh dear… why would he do that?"

I wiped at my eyes a bit more, and sniffled. "Don't know."

"Oh, come here…" She took a tissue and handed it to me, so I could properly blow my nose and wipe my eyes. She helped me up off the floor, and onto the bed, where she then sat across from me.

"How did you find out?" She asked sympathetically.

"How did _you_ find out?" Surely it wasn't that long since Paul left?

She smiled. "You know how quick word gets around the maids headquarters."

"True." I was hoping she would forget her question.

No such luck.

"So how did you find out? When?"

"Errr… this morning. I don't think it was that long ago… Why?"

She shrugged. "Well, I didn't really think anyone would have told you, that's all. That's not to say that people shouldn't, but… well, we didn't think it was right to tell you straight away. You do get pretty oversensitive when it comes to this."

I gasped. "Do not!"

She smirked, looking at me. "Oh, right, yeah… which is why I found you crying on the floor?"

I blushed. My embarrassment was due to her finding me crying – _crying!_ -, and also because she was blatantly unaware of the fact that I was being oversensitive because Paul had just left me after taking my virginity.

But let's not get into the gritty details.

"Well, I'm sorry for being upset." I replied sarcastically. "I mean, why would I be upset when I'm about to be chucked out of the castle after seven years?"

Abbey looked shocked. Her brown eyes widened, and her small mouth shaped into an 'o'. "What? When?"

I shrugged uncomfortable. "Well, no one has said that, but you know Paul will-"

"Paul would never do that."

"Um, yes he would. He's a demon." Okay, really didn't want to talk about Paul here.

"A demon that cares for you." I cringed mentally. "He'd never force you out of here if you didn't want to. Wait, you… you don't _want_ to leave, do you?"

I thought about that for a minute. Did I? It would make things easier. I'd get the satisfaction of going voluntarily, rather than being forced against my will, I suppose. But did I really want to leave? Now?

No. I didn't.

"No. Besides, where do I have to go?"

She looked uncomfortable. She was trying to think of something to say.

"What aren't you telling me, Abbey?" I asked, trying to understand her body language. She was definitely hiding something.

"Well, err…" She was stalling. "You could always go back to, you know, Jesse?"

"Um, no. I doubt he'll want me in his castle."

She looked down, fiddling with the covers of my bed. I tried not to think why the covers were all over the place.

"Abbey. Tell me." It couldn't be that bad, right? As long as it didn't involve Paul…

"Err… it's just that, um, Jesse kind of…"

My heart stopped. "Jesse kind of WHAT?"

"Jesse's downstairs. He wants to see you."

I was now going into overdrive. "WHAT?? Why didn't you TELL me?" I got up, and rushed to the bathroom. Now I'd have to fix my hair!

"I wasn't sure you'd want to know. I didn't think you'd want Jesse seeing you upset, either."

Well, that was true. "Well, I'm fine now, so I'll go see him."

She had come into the bathroom, and was now standing by the doorframe. "Are you sure? He could come here – I don't think you'll want to go down there-"

"Why not?"

"With what's happening, everything's getting a bit crazy. The demons are everywhere – and seeing as you've just been released from being captured by a demon, you might not-"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." She had her arms crossed. She wasn't going to budge on this.

"Well he's not coming up here." I said, indignantly. I didn't want Jesse in my room. Especially considering what happened last night.

"Suze, you-"

"FINE, I'll compromise. No castle. But not my room. Could you ask him to meet me in the Valley?"

Her arms dropped. She was leaving it. "Alright, alright." She turned out of the bathroom, and then poked her head back through, winking. "Try not to get kidnapped on the way."

**-&-**

I sat in the middle of the vast expanse on grass, the excess fabric of my black dress billowing around me, swaying in the same synchronisation as the grass blades. My hair had been a lost cause – I had tied it in a bun, in a vain attempt to make it appear less of a mess.

The clouds were still hovering over the city, and I could make out the rain coming down. The rain hadn't reached the Valley, which was only overcast. Some days the weather in the Valley would be mild, with the sun poking through. But today, with the large storm over the city, the clouds were thicker than usual, and there were no cracks for the sun to peak through.

It had only taken a few minutes for Jesse to arrive. I heard a sprinkle of materialisation, and turned to see him standing a few feet away from me.

I immediately got up and ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck, and burying my head in his chest. His arms came around me protectively, and he whispered in Spanish in my ear.

It came to me that I really had missed Jesse. He was the voice of reason – he always knew what was best to do. And in the middle of my emotional turmoil, I needed that. I needed someone to help me see things clearly.

"I've been so worried about you, _querida_." We broke apart, to look at each other.

I faked a smile. "You needn't worry about little ol' me. I'm fine."

He looked around. "No you're not, _querida_. Abbey told me that you were incredibly upset earlier." Thank you, Abbey. No, really. "Not that it's surprising. And you've only just come back from being kidnapped-"

I looked up in surprise. "You knew about that?"

"Of course, Susannah. Most people did."

I blushed. "That is so not cool."

He smiled down at me, and then tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "How are you, Susannah? Really?"

He was concerned. His eyebrows were turned up, and he had a slight frown. He hands were holding mine, as if making sure I stayed to answer him truthfully, instead of trying to run for it.

The latter was very tempting.

"I don't know, Jesse." I sighed. How much did I want to give away? "My emotions are all over the place. One minute I'll be upset, the next I'll be incredibly angry. And it's like everything is being thrown at me at once. What with the demons capturing me, and then Isabelle…" I sighed again, but this time more frustrated. I pulled my hands out of his grasp, and ran them through my hair. "I just don't know what to do! About anything! And I'm so scared of making a decision, but choosing wrong…"

"Do not doubt yourself, Susannah. You are good at heart, you just need to trust myself." He came back towards me, as I had taken a few steps back.

It was easy for him to say that I needed to trust myself. But how could I trust myself, when I couldn't trust anyone else?

"But what about Isabelle? I have no idea what to do, how to help. And, god, I'm not even sure whether I _want_ to help! I mean, it's because of her that I'm in this mess!"

He looked down. "It's my fault too, querida. You wouldn't be with the demons at all if it wasn't for me."

"Oh, Jesse, you know I don't…" I rested my hands on his chest, and played with the fabric. From being closer, I could look up into his eyes. "You know I don't blame you for that. You did it for a good reason – if I would have made a choice, I would have sent myself there. You know that."

He smiled slightly. "You were certainly self-sacrificing, I'll give you that."

I looked away. I may have been self-sacrificing. But what about now? I didn't even want to help Isabelle, for the position it would put _me_ in! I was certainly selfish. More selfish than I ever was.

He spoke up, and looked me right in the eyes. "Can you blame Isabelle? She's in almost the same position you were in."

"I know that. I do. Ergh, you see? My judgement is so messed up. I can't decide what's wrong and what's right. I'm just so… angry about what's happening. But I need to help her – I promised I would."

"I'm sure that once you figure it out, you'll do the right thing. You may think that you're wrong sometimes, _querida_, but that doesn't change the fact that you are a good person. It's in your nature."

"Well I just hope you're right." I smiled wearily. I felt so drained – my emotions, and what happened last night, were wearing me down.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, and rested my head on his chest. I could feel his breath on my hair – a soft tickling compared to the gusts of wind.

"If you need space to think, I'll always be here. You could always stay at the castle with me, _querida_."

I paused, thinking. But I knew what I had to do. Almost. "No, Jesse, I've got to look over what's happening with Isabelle. I've got to do my best to help her."

"Of course. But just remember one thing – you won't be alone in this."

I was very much comforted by the thought.

**

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**

Ahhh, it's nice to have Jesse back, isn't it?

**Please review! **


	17. Hiding

**Okay, so I got quite a lot of questions in reviews and such. I'm hoping to get most of them in the story, but these are some of the things that came up that probably won't go into it in any detail:**

**Suze is friends with Abbey simply because Abbey is a maid that Suze sees fairly often. They're both the same age, quite similar, and girls. So they simply got on well, and the friendship started from there. Although Suze doesn't hate all the other maids, Abbey is the only one she's ever been close to.  
**

**I realise that nothing has really been said about Suze's family (although I've put in a little bit in this chapter). This is mainly because after not seeing them in so long, they're not an important part of her life anymore. Pretty much everything from her old life, apart from Jesse, has just disappeared. So I just don't write about them.  
**

**And no, I will not write many sexual scenes. Why? Because I will be LAME at them. Seriously, they would be awful and clichéd and terrible. It's bad enough writing fluffy scenes. I may have a go at some point, but I can't guarantee anything.  
**

**I also want to say that the thing going on with Suze's (and Paul's and Jesse's, for that matter) powers will be coming up later. But at the moment, Suze doesn't know herself, and is pretty unaware of the powers that she may have.**

**And my type of demons aren't typical demons – kinda like Stephenie Meyer's vampires in Twilight (man I love that – yes, I am an original Twilighter!). They don't have horns or wings or anything, or any special powers or anything like that. Paul does, because he's a very powerful person anyway – not a shifter, exactly, but a shaman type person (as is Jesse). They look fairly normal, they're just pretty evil and sadistic. They could fit in with humans, but they still stand out. They have a vibe that tells people to stay away. Not that my type of demon would hang around humans anyway. Well, apart from Paul. XD**

**And the light side, with Jesse, are the opposite to demons. Not angels or anything, just really good people. I've always though the light kingdom as being like that elf place in Lord of The Rings. XD**

**I know that I've been missing out a lot of details and descriptions, but I'm really trying to just get the plot out there. It's difficult for me to write a chapter a week (I am so slow at writing, it's unbelievable), so things get missed out. Also writing it chapter by chapter, and not really being able to go back and change things, makes it a lot harder too. But if you ever want more details, please ask!**

**Sorry for this INSANELY long author note, I just wanted to answer questions and clear things up. Hopefully the world I've created, and the plot, is a little clearer.**

**And now back to a flashback of Suze and Jesse in the early days…**

* * *

**Chapter XVII**

_FLASHBACK_

_There was a knock on the door. Well, not really a knock, exactly, more of a persistent banging. LOUD banging. At three in the morning._

_Who the hell DOES that?_

_And why does it have to be now? My parents were both out of town, visiting some great aunt or whatever who had suddenly taken ill; my youngest brother was at a friends doing HOMEWORK, believe it or not (somehow that is a cool thing to do at a sleepover); my other stepbrother was at some crazy party, which he still hadn't returned from; and my eldest step brother was away at college. _

_I guess it could be Brad, who was at a party. But I doubted he'd be back before six. Surely not. _

_Sighing, I got up, and decided to see what the hell someone could want so urgently at this ungodly hour. While walking towards the door, muttering "loser, I bet who this is has no life, bet they don't bloody want anything, either…", I noticed the silhouette of the person at the doorway through a window by the side of the door. A very LARGE figure…_

_Definitely not Brad. Nuh uh._

_I so hope he doesn't want to attack me or anything. I'm strong, but not THAT strong…_

_Realising this, I took a detour to the kitchen, in which I quickly grabbed the nearest knife._

_Which just so happened to be the hugest knife I had ever seen, with a really sharp blade. That's what you get for having a stepfather who loves to cook._

_Holding it to my side, hidden out of view yet ready for attack, I edged closer to the door. The banging had stopped for a little bit (like, two seconds), but had now restarted. The banging was even louder, and more urgent. I was afraid he was going to knock it down or something. How would I explain that to my parents?_

_Well, I guess I wouldn't have to if I got brutally murdered, but still. The worry was still there._

_I put my hand on the handle and, praying that I wasn't going to get attacked, opened the door._

_The man stepped inside (more like RAN, the freakin' mentalist), and slammed the door behind him. I gasped, freaked out by what this guy was doing, and lifted the SuperKnife, preparing to hit him with it._

_He noticed, and caught my arm. I was about to shriek when he reached behind him and lit the lantern by the door (all with one hand, too. Swish), so I could finally see who it was._

"_Holy-"_

"_SUSANNAH, what are you doing with a CLEAVER?" Jesse shouted incredulously. _

"_Oh, is THAT what it was? I did wonder…" I looked down at it, happy that I finally knew what it was._

"_Well," he said, taking it out of my hand and putting it on the table, "Now that that's cleared up, can you go pack your things?"_

_I looked at him blankly. "Oh sure, I'll just go- Why the HELL do I need to pack my things? Why are you even HERE? If I remember rightly, you left me two weeks ago, with a letter saying that you were a freakin' KING – thanks for that, by the way – and I haven't seen you since. Now all of a sudden you burst in here at THREE IN THE FREAKIN' MORNING, and just casually ask me to 'PACK MY THINGS'?" I asked, quite loudly, and using my fingers to show quotation marks. "Why do I need to pack my things? What FOR?"_

"_Because, Susannah, you are in danger. I left you to protect you, querida," it is so not right that my heart still fluttered when he called me that, "but I can now see that I have put you in more danger."_

"_How am I in danger?"_

_He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "The Demon Lord found out that we were… together. Now, because he is pure evil and finds great enjoyment in ruining people's lives, he wants you as his queen."_

_I stared blankly._

_Blinked._

_More blinking._

"_Susannah, are you listening?" He came closer to me, so he was looking me right in the eye. Probably to see if my brain was still working. Which I don't think it was. _

"_Uhhh, sure. Sorry, I just thought that I heard that some Demon Lord wanted me as his queen, haha…"_

"_Nombre de Dios…" He muttered, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest. I usually would have melted into his arms if I weren't practically comatose from shock. "I'm so sorry… So sorry, querida… They told me not to tell you straight away, I should have listened… I knew you'd be shocked, and scared. You should be, after all…"_

_My brain was slowly functioning. But when it did, I realised that I didn't want it to. Numbness would be better than the sheer panic and terror I felt._

"_You're actually… telling the truth…" I pulled away from him slightly, so I could look up at the grave expression on his face. "But, WHY?"_

"_I told you – he's evil. He thinks that if he takes you from me, and makes you his queen, it will slow down the process of ME finding a queen… After all, you are the only woman that I love, querida…"_

_My eyes were swimming with tears. I shook my head. "No, no, you left me, you can't…"_

"_I did it to protect you, querida. This world is dangerous at the moment, especially after the war. I didn't want you in the middle of it – you're not ready for this." He put his hand up, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear._

_I shook my head more, trying to deny what was happening. "And I'm ready to be queen to a DEMON?"_

"_Of course not, Susannah, which is why we have to leave. To run away. It's our only choice."_

_Tears were streaming down my face. I was never one to show weakness, but this was… Big. Terrifying. I had never even seen a demon before, but from what I heard they were pure evil. Sadistic. I didn't want anything to do with them. But now it seemed like I was being forced into their world._

"_I'm sorry, querida…" He brow was furrowed, and concern was clear in his eyes. He knew I wasn't one to cry._

_I wiped my eyes as much as I could, although not very effectively due to the constant tears. "Just let me write a letter… Grab as much stuff as you can and shove it in a bag. I have one at the bottom of my closet." He nodded, and ran to my bedroom, while I went to get a pen and paper. I usually would be horrified to have Jesse rummaging around in my drawers – HELLO? Underwear! -, but in my current state of mind I didn't care. I had to leave as soon as possible._

_I slammed a paper pad on the table, and scribbled a note._

Sorry I had to leave without telling anyone, but it's for the best. It took me by surprise, too.

I can't tell you where I've gone, but know that I'm safe. Or I will be.

Hope to see you soon.

Love you,

Suze

_I cried harder when I finished it. I knew I was lying. I wouldn't be safe for a long time. And I had no idea when the next time I would see them would be._

_After leaving my note in clear view, Jesse took my arm and led me out of the house, and into the carriage waiting. _

_I was lying in my letter. I would never be safe._

_And I would never see my family again._

**-&-**

_Weeks had passed, and I had not seen my family. I had no idea if they were safe or not – I had not been able to keep contact with them. I was upset that I couldn't even talk to my own mother, but I knew it was for a good reason. I didn't want to put them in more danger because of me. I would feel terrible for it._

_Not that I knew if they were safe anyway. I suppose that was what upset me the most – the fact that they could have already died because of me, and I wouldn't even know._

_I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. The constant panicking wasn't helping, and I needed a clear head to be able to get out of this situation._

_I looked out to the forest. The dense woodland surrounded the two-roomed cottage that Jesse and me were staying in. It was quite far away from the demon's city; yet close enough to the kingdom that Jesse ruled so that he could get messages fairly quickly. Every now and then I would see a deer or fox pass the window, unaware of the cottage and its inhabitants. It was so peaceful out here; hardly fitting for the situation I was in._

_Jesse and I had moved regularly, always making sure that our tracks were covered. I had no idea how long this would go on for – it was as if we were simply dancing around the inevitable. But I still had faith – we could get out of this. My stubbornness would hopefully overrule the demon's skill, and they would give up. _Hopefully_._

_Jesse came into the room then, and came to wrap an arm around me, looking out of the window as well. He sighed. "I'm so sorry, querida…"_

_I turned to face him. "No, Jesse, stop blaming yourself. This isn't your fault."_

"_But-"_

_I put my finger to his lips before he could continue. "No buts, Jesse. It isn't your fault, so stop feeling bad about all this. No more apologies." He nodded, agreeing to my command. I removed my fingers from his lips. "Besides, I'm sure it will all work out in the end." I said, trying to sound optimistic. I even cracked a smile. It just wasn't very believable…_

_He pulled me closer, resting his chin on my head. "Hmm…"_

_It wasn't an agreeing 'hmm'._

_I tried not to panic. But I knew it was bad when even Jesse had no hope left. He couldn't even look me in the eye. Hell, he couldn't even PRETEND that things would be okay._

_This was bad. The whole situation was worse than I thought. _

_I knew demons were bad. I had gown up hearing the things that they did from people at school and my parents – horror stories that were so horrible, and yet still believable. They tortured victims, sexually abused innocent humans, went on killing rampages in neighbouring towns, burnt down houses. And as children, we had always told stories to each other, taking great delight in all the gory details, describing every element of their appearance – from their huge, looming figures, down to the dark shadows under their eyes. For these were creatures of the darkness, after all. Most of their 'fun' happened late at night – and even in the day, the city was always covered by thick, grey cloud, never letting in the sun's rays._

_But now, older and more mature, I know that the stories that were told were true. These demons were just as monstrous as we were led to believe._

_And I had the ruler of them trying to find me._

_Jesse sighed, and I felt his breath moving strands of my hair. Without moving from his position, he said, "I've received a message from the castle again – the situation in the city has worsened. I've left it for long enough, Susannah. I need to go and make arrangements."_

_The panic was coming back, stronger. "You're… leaving me?" I asked, my voice shaking. Usually this would have mortified me, but I was scared shitless._

_His hands cupped my face, and he looked me in the eye. He was showing me that he was telling the truth. "You know I wouldn't if it wasn't important. The kingdom needs me, and it is my responsibility to protect it."_

"_But-but that's not fair! The war wasn't your fault! I need you-!"_

_He cut me off, "Susannah, I was the heir to the throne. I am now King. Whether it was my fault or not, it is my duty to bring the city back to its glory." Before I had a chance to butt in again, he cut me off. "I know I need to protect you too, querida, but there's a kingdom waiting for me. _Trust me_, Susannah. I wouldn't do this if it weren't absolutely necessary."_

_I looked up at his dark brown orbs. "I trust you, Jesse. I do. But… what if something happens?"_

"_You'll be fine for a few days. I have already sent for a maid and guards. You will be protected and cared for."_

_I nodded. But I wasn't completely comforted by this. "Maids and guards won't change the fact that _you're_ not here…"_

_He sighed, and pulled me into his arms again. "I know, querida. I am so terribly sorry."_

"_I thought we said no more apologies?"_

_He didn't answer, but kept stroking my hair, trying to sooth me. I felt awful for making him guilty, and trying to get him to stay. I knew he was the newly acquainted King, but that didn't stop me from wanting him with me. I was being terribly selfish._

"_How long will you be gone?" I asked._

"_A few days, not long. I just have to meet some people, and sort out what's happening. The demons aren't fully under control yet – it appears the Lord of Demons isn't doing too well at the moment. Probably spending too long looking for you," he said darkly. A shiver ran up my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "There've been more incidents concerning the demons at the edge of the city, close to The Valley. And they're all raging out of control because they're all so _angry_." He was getting angry himself, just thinking about them. He always spoke of the demons with disgust and hatred, and I could see this conversation leading onto the war that he was not too happy about either. "I _knew_ the war would cause this – but did my father ever listen? No. Constantly reacting to the old Lord of Demons' provocations, until it ended in this. The rivalry was just too much for them both. And look where it landed us all! Both of them died because neither of them would back down and say they were weaker. My father was a great man, do not misunderstand me, but sometimes his pride would get the better of him. It ended up killing him. My mother, also." His last remark caused his voice to waver slightly – he was still ever so upset about his mother's recent death. She had been on the sidelines of the final fight between them both, and gotten too close. She was out of the protection of our kingdom's side, and a demon managed to hit an arrow right through her heart. Maybe that caused the final weakness in Jesse's father's fight. He had just seen his wife die before him._

_Not that I mentioned this to Jesse. He was so sore about it, so I never said _anything_ about it to him._

"_I'm just happy that the other King died, too." He continued, after composing himself. "If it hadn't been for the strength of our remaining soldiers, he could still be alive. And our kingdom would be under even more threat. Not that it isn't already…_

"_Which leads us back to this." He said, opening his hands to show that he meant our predicament. "I have to leave, Susannah."_

_I buried my head back in his chest, and mumbled in his shirt, "What if something happens? I've never even met another demon before! I'm so sorry for making you feel guilty about this – I know you have to protect your kingdom…"_

"_Now whose making apologies?" He said, half-amused. He was still half-concerned._

_I sighed. "Alright. Go. It's your responsibility, after all. I'm just being selfish, wanting you all to myself. Just… don't be long."_

"_I won't be, Susannah. You'll be fully protected. Trust me." He said, leaning into me so that I could feel his breath on my cheek, his lips so close I could almost touch them._

"_Of course I trust you."_

_He smiled. "Good. I love you, querida."_

_After that final word, he kissed me tenderly on the lips. But it soon turned passionate, frantic. Like he was scared that it would be the last time. His hands were wrapped around my waist tightly, like they would never let go. I wished they didn't._

_My own hands were wrapped around his neck, pulling myself closer, hoping to be able to keep him there. I could feel the tense muscle of his jaw, and I knew he wasn't happy about leaving me. It unnerved me to no end._

_He managed to pull away from my grasp, and rested his forehead on mine. We were both breathing loudly, trying to catch our breath. His hands moved to caress my cheek._

"_Goodbye, querida."_

_And with a final kiss to my lips, he walked out of the room._

**

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Don't worry, that's not the end of the flashback – there's still some more explaining about what's happening to come. I just had to cut this early so I could post it on time.

**Thanks so much for the reviews – they really motivate me! There's no way I would be posting this on time if it weren't for them!**

**The next chapter will hopefully be up next Monday, but I can't promise anything – school's a bit crazy at the moment, and I have some catching up to do from my holiday. Please don't panic or anything if I don't update by then. **


	18. Impure

**Sorry for the delay! But I have given you a longer chapter than usual!**

**The flashback from the last chapter will be continued later, but this chapter was just easier to write at the moment. XD **

**So now we're back to the present day…**

* * *

**Chapter XVIII**

My conversation with Jesse had certainly put my mind at rest. Now my emotions were somewhat settled, and I could think clearly, I knew I had to help Isabelle. I had promised her. Well, I had also promised William, but he had given her up.

I thought about what Isabelle must be going through. Her situation was very similar to mine. Looking at it like that, it upset me. She's in the same position I was, but she's not completely stuck. She can get out. There are people to save her – like me. I never had that. I was destined to be stuck at the castle as soon as Paul decided he wanted me.

Kind of a bummer, really. But I had accepted it. It was now my chance to stop it from happening to someone else, and I was not going to screw up.

Well, hopefully not.

I needed to see Isabelle. To talk to her, and find out what happened.

… And find out what Paul had said to her. If anything. My excuse for wanting to know this particular detail was because I had to know anything he's planning, so I know what to prepare for.

Not because I care if he said anything about me at all. I could care _less _about that.

Haha. Dream on, Suze.

I walked to the wardrobes covering most of the left wall, adjacent to my bed. Upon opening it, I wasn't given a whole lot of options. Just a whole lotta black.

Usually I'd wear the simplistic stuff, never wanting to draw attention to myself. Simple fabrics, simple cut, occasional embroidery with a dash of deep red or green or silver. I had never particularly paid attention to the other, much more ostentatious creations lurking in my wardrobe – items that Paul had bought in an attempt to make me slightly happier and less moody about the fact that I was locked away in a castle. Although how he thought he could win me over by a few dresses, I don't know.

_But he finally did win you over, though, didn't he?_

Shut up, Brain.

_Well stop denying the truth._

There's no truth to be denied!

_Oh yes there is. You're absolutely and terribly in lo-_

LALALALALALA, I'M NOT LISTENIIIIIIIIIIING!

Thoroughly irritated with myself and internal arguments, I took out the first thing my hand caught hold off. Which just so happened to be one of those extravagant dresses from Paul.

_Ooh, what a coincidence…_

Humming very loudly to myself to block out the ANNOYING RAMBLINGS of others (or, you know, my own mind. I really am going insane), I put on the dress. Only to find that this dress actually had a tight lace-up corset. I mainly chose dresses that were simple, and I could just put them on top of whatever undergarments I already had on. Occasionally, when I had been asked specifically to dinner with Paul, a maid would be sent up to help me into a more formal dress, which would usually have some sort of lace at the back. But at the moment, I was on my own, with no maid.

Holding the dress up around my chest, so it wouldn't come loose and fall down a bit _too_ far, I shimmied to the door, trying not to trip over the layers of fabric. I opened the door, and peeked my head outside, and saw a maid walking away from me, carrying some bed linen.

"Psst!" I shout-whispered down the corridor. She turned around, eyes wide, and almost dropped the sheets in her surprise. Looking at me quizzically, she walked back up to me.

My original idea as soon as I saw this lady was to get _her_ to help me. But as she came closer and closer, I noticed that her lips were pursed, and she had a semi-amused look on her face. I hated maids like this. No, I really mean it. It was rare that I really, truly hated someone I didn't know, but maids like this just… GOT to me. So condescending and mean, they always thought the worst of me – as if I asked to be stuck here, and I was just hanging around for my own enjoyment. Which is like, the total opposite of why I'm here.

So when she got closer, and was about to speak, I cut her off and asked for Abigail. She knew who I meant. And I did _not_ want to hear and smarmy words coming from Evil Lady's lips.

Once she left, I closed the door, and looked around my room. It had not changed much in the last seven years. More lived in, yes, but that was about it. The large four-poster bed was in the same position, although the sheets were cream at the moment, different from the original crimson I had hated so much. The cream I had insisted had certainly brightened the room considerably. The long, thin window opposite the doorframe in which I stood looked out over the city, and in front of it sat a deep red chaise longue. The dressing table, which was situated next to the door to my small bathroom, was covered in all sorts of brushes, make-up paints, and jewellery. I walked over, and sat on the stool, running my fingers over the glossy and smooth oak. I opened one of the small drawers, to find a collection of beautiful and probably ludicrously expensive necklaces. Picking one up, I draped it around my neck and fastened the clasp.

It hung beautifully, and surprisingly wasn't as heavy as it looked. The silver metal of the chain wove in and out of wonderfully arranged diamonds and rubies, curving around my neck and then dropping ever so slightly in the middle, with a larger ruby dangling just above the top of the dress that I was still holding in position. The beauty of it was mesmerising, and I found myself staring in the mirror at it as it rested on my neck.

The rubies and beauty of the piece reminded me of the blood necklace. What would happen to that now? I never thought that there was more than one, and surely Paul would want it for Isabelle…

The thought send a jolt of panic through me. What if Paul had already taken Isabelle's blood, and replaced mine with it? He told me that he took my blood when I was unconscious in one of the cells – which was where Isabelle was right now. Surely he would tell me before he did that? Wouldn't I have to be there? Surely? I mean, it was _my_ blood that was originally in there.

My frantic thoughts were interrupted by Abbey coming in the room and bursting out, "Are you going to a funeral?"

I turned around in my chair to look at her in what I can only assume to be a very confused expression. "… What?"

"What's with all the black?"

I looked down at what I was wearing. Well, kind of wearing, anyway. She still had to lace it up for me. "I always wear black."

She rolled her eyes, coming towards me and motioning me to stand up and turn around so that she could tie the corset. "Yes, I know that, but this is a bit more… extravagant than normal. For a moment there I thought you were getting ready to go to Paul's and Isabelle's wedding and needed emotional guidance."

I raised an eyebrow and said amusedly, "Oh right, so that's why you asked if I was going to a funeral?"

"Ah, wedding, funeral, same thing in this place…" She replied, pulling the strings tighter. I almost had to grab hold of something to stop me from toppling over from the force of her pulling. I was going to have difficulty breathing at this rate. Who needed torture rooms when there were _corsets_?

"Hmm. I agree with you on that one." I was reminded of my thoughts from earlier. "That's a point – do you know anything that's been happening? With Isabelle, I mean."

"Oh, errr…" I could tell she wasn't really in the conversation, too focused on her battle with the corset. "Not really. I think things are mainly getting arranged."

I tried to ask my next question lightly, trying not to convey my inner troubles. "So, er, her blood's not in that blood necklace thingy then?"

"Doubt it. That usually happens at the wedding." She had finished with her torturing, and was now tying the final bow in the back of the corset.

"What?" I asked sharply, turning around.

"Well, that's what they do at the wedding – it's one of those little weird tradition things the demons have." She was talking to me as if it was common knowledge.

"But why is my blood in it then?" I asked.

She looked stumped. "Hell if I know. Besides, we both know that Paul's a little bit on the crazy side. Don't worry about it."

"Hmm, I guess…" I tried to put my worried thoughts aside. Paul wouldn't do go ahead and take me from his possession and _not_ tell me. I mean, it did kind of involve me just a little bit.

"So… where are you heading in _this?_" She asked, gesturing to my dress, along with that pretty necklace that I had still not removed.

I looked in the full-length mirror in front of one of the walls. The dress fitted my figure tightly until just above my hips, where it then flowed out over the layers upon layers of fabric underneath. The sleeves were just long enough to pass my elbows, and had some small frills at the end. The dress was a sheer, black fabric with a slight shine to it. The bodice and sleeves were made with the same fabric, but with a pattern printed onto it in greens and reds. The print was slightly floral, with leafy stems swirling across my figure.

It was beautiful. Not the kind of thing that I'd usually wear, but still absolutely stunning. And with my hair behaving itself in its natural waves, and the ruby necklace, I looked quite nice.

"Aren't I allowed to dress up once in a while?" I asked, fingering the necklace.

She shrugged, looking at me as if I had grown another head. "I guess. But where are you going?"

I sighed, and flopped back onto the stool. She perched herself at the end of my bed, opposite me. "I thought I'd go see Isabelle."

"Why the hell would you want to do that?"

"I need to speak to her. To see her. Look, it's the only idea I've had so far, and I'd rather that than just sitting around here doing _nothing_."

She smiled crookedly. "And if the Almighty Paul sees you?"

I blushed. "Well, I…"

"Can fend for yourself?" She answered for me, raising her eyebrows.

I nodded. "Exactly! Look, what's Paul going to do? If he chucks me out, so be it. But let's be honest – what have I got to lose?"

She looked at me, in an expression I couldn't decipher. She was thinking deeply about something, that much I could tell, but she was closing off whatever those thoughts were. Abbey was far more intelligent than most people could see – yes, she was a maid, but that wasn't her choice. She was incredibly smart and beautiful, with her long, silky mahogany hair, flawless tanned skin, and deep brown eyes. It was sad to see someone as amazing as her cooped up in such a depressing place like this.

"Hmm, you're right." She murmured, and then finally shook out of her reverie. She spoke again in a normal voice, "Paul would never do anything to hurt you, would he? Well, apart from just leave you with nothing and going after another girl. I mean, I guess the only good thing is that you and he had never agreed to be together anyway, so it's not like he's _really_ leaving you for another woman if you weren't really _together_ in the first place, is it?"

I looked away, back down at my dress. "Uhm, no, I guess that's, aha, good, yeah…"

She gasped, making my look up, startled. "Why are you blushing, Suze?"

"Me?" I lifted my hand to my chest. "I'm not blushing, why would I be blushing? I mean, of course I probably am because you asked me if I _was_, and that always makes my cheeks heat up and-"

"Now you're rambling! You're embarrassed! Why? What did I say?" Pleasedon'tnoticepleasedon'tnoticepleasedon'tnotice…

Something flickered in her eyes, and she was off the bed in a flash. "WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU AND PAUL THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT??"

"Jesus, Abbey! Keep it down!" I said, covering my ears. How could someone screech that loud? And at such a high pitch? It's a miracle I could still hear.

She had lifted her hands up to her face, and her eyes were bright. "Ohmygod, ohmygod, you have GOT to tell me, I KNOW something happened, I thought it odd how you found out about Isabelle being in one of the cells so quickly, I thought that Paul must've told you – although how could he have told you so soon after, when he was down there the whole time, unless he was-"

She cut off, looking at me wide eyed, her mouth agape. I knew the day would come where I would hate her intelligence and perceptiveness.

"He was in your ROOM?"

"Errr…" I looked around, trying to distract her. I doubted shouting, 'Look – a bird!' would do it.

"Oh my God, Suze, you didn't…" She came up closer to me, kneeling so she was eye-level with me and put her hands on her shoulders.

I groaned, and put my head in my hands. "It was a caught-in-the-moment thing, I don't know how the hell it happened – one minute we were fighting, the next he was opening up to me, and then BAM he started kissing me, and I couldn't even tell him to stop and-"

I was hysteric. But I hadn't TOLD anyone about this – apart from the fact that I was ashamed (although not nearly enough as I knew I should be), I was still sore about the subject. I had given him my freakin' _virginity_, and he just walked away.

"Oh, Suze, I'm sorry, God, I just can't believe it! Oh, don't cry, I'm sorry I was so rude, you know I-"

"No, Abbey, it's fine. I probably should've told you, I was just pretty upset about it." I was hugging her back fiercely, crying weakly into her shoulder.

"And so you should be," she consoled me, "I can't believe he – God, what a DICK!"

"Abbey!" I said in shock, lifting my head up to look at her in surprise.

"What? He IS." She said, affronted.

I shrugged. "I can't disagree." I said, smiling through my tears.

She smoothed down my hair, tucking it behind my ears. "Oh, Suze, no wonder you've been so upset."

I sniffed, and wiped at my tears. "I just can't believe I was so _stupid_. I _know_ I made a mistake, but-" I groaned, still annoyed with myself. "But for some reason I don't… _regret_ it. It feels like maybe it was just meant to happen, and that's how it played out. I'm frustrated that it happened, but I wouldn't take it back or anything. Does that make sense?" I asked her, looking into her eyes for some sort of comfort.

She furrowed her brow. "I guess… you always were a little messed up." She said, laughing slightly. Her smile was contagious, and I soon found myself smiling back.

She stood up, and helped me up with her. She took a few steps towards the door, then turned back to face me. "Are you sure you want to do this? Risk running into Paul down there?"

I smiled reassuringly – how odd that it was now my reassuring her. "Like I said – what have I got to lose?"

"Alright. Just be careful."

"I will, mom." I grinned.

She rolled her eyes at me, opening the door. "I'll see you later – I'll see if I can get any more news on Isabelle from this side." She winked, and walked out, calling "Bye!" before she shut the door.

I sighed, and mentally prepared myself for my visit to the cell.

**-&-**

It had only been half an hour since Abbey had asked if I was doing the right thing by risking a run-in with Paul.

Now I was down here, that was so the least of my worries. I was surrounded by DEMONS. But not just demons, oh no, but murderous ones that were here FOR A GOOD REASON, and not just for shits and giggles.

It didn't help that I wanted to stay away from the main passageways to stay away from Paul. I ended up going down narrow, dark tunnels getting catcalls from the prisoners (yeah, not drawing attention to me AT ALL, thank you!), and also making my lovely dress all mucky and grimy. And it was such a nice one too.

Eh. Serves me right, I guess.

It was just as I was turning around yet another corner and deciding that maybe I should just go back the way I came, that I noticed some people coming towards me. They were wearing what looked like cloaks, fanning out behind them as they walked. I could tell from their posture and the fact that they were actually quite shocked to see someone female come towards them, that I knew that neither of these two people were Paul. As soon as I realised this, my heartbeat slowed back to its normal rhythm, and I kept walking. However, I still kept my face down in the hope that they wouldn't recognise me or anything.

As they walked past, they cast me a few curious glances and glares. Neither of them said anything, of which I was thankful, but as they got further away I heard mumbled words about me. Mainly, they wondering why I was down here, especially me of all people.

I quickened my pace. If I was going to do this, I had to do it before word somehow got to Paul.

Ahead of me I could make out the figure of a guard. From my (albeit very little) knowledge of the dungeons, I knew that the guards rarely watched over one cell. Unless what was inside that cell was very important.

Which I'm pretty sure Isabelle, at this moment in time, was.

The guard noticed me, and he turned towards me, almost filling the passage with his burly figure. "What're you doing here, lady?"

"I've come to visit Isabelle. Private business."

He laughed in my face. "I know who you are. I've been told not to let you down here. Now go back up to your room before your dress gets dirty."

That was rude. Okay, so I may have been complaining about mucking up my dress earlier, but that doesn't mean that I'm so materialistic that that is the only thing I would be thinking about. I was on a mission here!

I let his comment slip. "Why shouldn't I be down here? I do have _some_ say in this kingdom." Okay, an obvious lie, but he didn't necessarily know that.

He laughed again, somewhat cruelly. I guess he did know I was lying then. "No, you see, YOU are just some girl hanging around for attention. SHE," he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder to the door, "is soon to be queen. I think I know who's the most important here."

That did it. He was rude to me before, but that was a sore subject for me. I was absolutely livid.

And did he say I hanging around for attention?! ERGH. This man is going DOWN.

I through my arm back and punched him full force in the eye. Usually, this hit would have simply made him step back a bit and cover his face with his hands shouting something like, "Ahh! My eye!". Or something similar to that effect. Maybe even to fight back.

But no. He FLEW back, a good six or so metres, until he landed with a loud thud, unconscious.

He FLEW.

From a PUNCH.

What. The. Hell.

After standing there for a while (like, a minute. Yeah, I was THAT shocked), I realised that I was wasting time. There were things to be done! And I was fairly certain that I was going to get interrupted at some point.

I also didn't want to be hanging around when that guard woke up. I don't think he was going to be a very happy bunny.

I opened the door and stepped inside, making sure that the door was shut firmly behind me. Turning back around, I noticed a few small lamps around the place, for which I was grateful. This would be a lot harder if I couldn't see anything.

"_Suze_? Is that you?" asked a weak voice in the corner incredulously.

I was almost shocked by this. I actually jumped a little bit. Despite the fact that I knew she was in here.

"Oh, yeah, hi." I replied, walking over to her. She quickly tucked in her legs, which were stretched out in front of her, so that her knees were almost up to her face, as if she was cowering away. Looking into her eyes, I saw a flash of fear.

Why would she be _scared_ of me?

Oh yeah. Last time she was in here and I came to see her, I almost killed her.

Huh. Seems like so long ago… I'd almost forgotten about it. Evidently, she hadn't.

"Alright, Isabelle." I said, sighing. I think she needed reassurance. "I'm not here to kill you. Just to talk." I sat opposite her, and wrapped my arms around my legs. It was always easier to talk to people if I was at their level.

"O-okay…" Her voice shook. Yeah, so much for the reassurance, Suze.

"So, seen Paul?" With my very limited time, I needed to cut to the chase. No time for beating around the bush.

He eyes widened, and more fear became apparent. She nodded, obviously not trusting herself to speak. Poor girl was scared stiff.

"Has he spoken to you about anything… or, er… done anything?" Why did my voice shake on the last question?

Tears were welling up in her eyes. She looked so incredibly vulnerable, and so _young_. I never really realised before (not that I'd seen her all that much) just how young she was. Her sapphire eyes and gorgeously blond wavy hair and white dress made her seem so cherubic. And _so_ not fitting in a place like this – full of demons and darkness. It almost hurt to know that if I couldn't stop this, she would be ruined and corrupted. And it would be so much worse than me – I was never so innocent. Not like her.

Her voice shook as she spoke, and she was trying to stop the tears from falling. "He… he asked me to marry him… he said that I-I-I wasn't going to leave anyway, that I'd just end up like you." Like me? Ouch. "H-He was so angry! I was so s-s-scared." She hiccupped. "Oh, I didn't know what to do! He hurt m-me, and w-w-was so _mean_! I-I-I had to give in, Suze! I had to say yes!"

"Say yes to what?"

She looked up, her sapphire eyes burning into me. "I had to agree to marry him."

All the air whooshed out of my lungs. Oh my God… How could she give in so easily? How was I meant to stop this! I thought she'd take some time, give _me_ time, but now what! She'd agreed to marry him.

I wasn't prepared for the amount of pain to hit me. My chest felt like it was being crushed, breaking apart, ripped to shreds. I knew this was going to happen, but to hear that she _agree to marry him_ just made it seem so _real_.

I couldn't even pretend it wasn't happening anymore. It was. And I had no clue whether I could stop this or not.

She still sat there, hands tied behind her back and around that same bloody pole, crying helplessly. I would have comforted her, but I was running out of time. I needed answers.

Well, that was what I told myself, anyway.

"Hurt you? Hurt you how?" I remembered some other things that she said before she dropped the bombshell.

"Well, he… he was so rough, so _mean_-"

"Did he hit you?… _Kiss_ you?"

She shook her head, and her hair flew side to side. "No, no, not like that."

I blew out a breath I'd been holding. "Do you… er, do you know if he's taken any blood from you?"

She looked confused. "B-blood? Why-"

"Suze, get out."

I stood up fast, and spun around to face the cold, harsh voice from the doorway.

Shit.

"Er… hi, fancy seeing you here."

Paul's face was livid. "Out. Now."

He moved out the way, gesturing with his hands in sharp movements where he wanted me to go. Namely, outside.

Well crap. "Guess my time's up, Izzy. See you around." I winked at her, and stalked out of the cell, not daring to look at Paul's face.

When I was outside, I walked as quickly as I could away, back down the passage that I had come from. But I heard the door slam close, and quicker footsteps fall behind me.

_Errrrrrrrrrrgh_. Why wouldn't he have just stayed there with her? I did not want to talk to him. At all.

Especially when he was pissed. This was not good.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" He thundered, grabbing my arm (PAINFULLY, might I add), and spinning me round.

"Well, I thought Izzy needed a girly chat, so-"

"You had NO RIGHT to go in there, you're lucky I haven't decided to-"

"To WHAT, Paul? Send me to the torture rooms?" I said, going on tiptoes so my face was almost level with his. I could see the anger in his eyes and the flare of his nostrils before he slammed me up against the wall.

Ewww! That wall is MUCKY. And now it was on that lovely dress, too.

"You are NEVER to speak to Isabelle. This is not your business, so stay the hell out of it."

We were glaring at each other fiercely. My heart was hammering in my chest so hard I thought it was going to break free, and my breathing was embarrassingly heavy.

He broke away from the Glaring Contest to look down the passage. "Did you really feel the need to knock one of my guards unconscious?" He asked flatly, turning back to me with an eyebrow raised.

I guess he'd seen the guy I knocked down earlier. Was he still _there_?

I shrugged indifferently. "He pissed me off."

He chuckled, looking down. He then stepped away, releasing my hands from his iron grasp. I saw this as a good sign, and that the worst was over. For now. "You've gotta learn to control that anger, Suze. It'll get you in trouble at some point."

I snorted. And glared some more. "That's not exactly my biggest concern right now."

He looked at me with one of his unreadable expressions. He didn't seem _angry_, exactly, but there was definitely _something_ lurking there that he didn't really want me to see. Some thoughts he was trying to hide.

Taking advantage of his silence and the fact that he wasn't holding me anyway, I turned away and stalked off back down the passage. I was interrupted by Paul shouting something at me that I didn't quite catch.

I turned around to ask rudely, "What?"

"Nice dress." He smirked appreciatively, walking up to me, hands in his pockets.

I blinked. And blushed. "… Thanks."

I turned around again and kept on walking. "Who're you dressing up for? Not Jesse, I hope."

Now _that_ I heard. I spun around again. "_What_?"

"I heard that you were speaking to him. Is that what the dressing up is for?"

I blushed some more, looking away. "Um, no…'

He laughed again, but it wasn't because he found something funny. Or maybe he had, because he was so evil and twisted. "I don't see the point, myself. It's not like he'd want you anyway. Who would want to marry someone who wasn't _pure_? You couldn't even wear white on your wedding day."

Okay. That stung. That was a freakin' _low blow_.

I stalked up to him and slapped him hard around the face. Sadly, this didn't cause him to fly away and land in a heap on the floor unconscious like the guy I had hit earlier. "I _hate_ you."

I then – finally – was able to run back to my room.

I told myself that it was because I couldn't trust what I said or did to him after that. I was too full of anger.

But really, I just couldn't hide the tears that were streaming down my face.

* * *

… **Review?**

**The more reviews, the quicker I'll write. :)**


	19. Running

**Sorry for the delay – revision, christmas, family visitings, more revision, and exams… And of course good ol' writers block.**

**Bahhh. But my weekends are free from work now, so I can try and focus on finishing this up. I'm not promising weekly updates, but I'm hoping to get this finished before my next set of exams in June/May.**

**And happy birthday to ME - I was 17 yesterday (the 31****st**** – I share my birthday with Justin Timberlake. Oooooh yeah!). xD**

**And it's SNOWING here in my part of the UK. Weeeee, snow.**

**So yeah… This starts from the end of chapter 17, btw.**

* * *

**Chapter XIX**

_FLASHBACK_

_It had been two days since Jesse had left. Two days of boredom, stuck in a house with a snooty maid and two guards who barely even spoke. I was actually going insane._

_And it was because of this immense boredom that I was laying on my bed, the golden light from the sun's last rays shining through the window, reading a book. I never read. I just… don't. But there was nothing to do – and I mean it, absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch._

_So I had ended up grabbing a random book from the small bookshelf in the room, and reading it. I had been reading it for a while, and to my surprise had become pretty lost in it. I managed to forget all about the rubbish maid, with her mousy hair in a too-tidy bun, the guards with all their muscles but no brain cells, and almost the fact that I had demons trying to find me._

_Until I heard a thud._

_Okay, okay, a thud, how odd. Thuds happen all the time – there were three other people around here. Anyone could drop something, or knock something over…_

_But when the thud was followed by a scream and frenzied footsteps, my reading time was officially over._

_And I was shitting myself._

_The footsteps were coming closer. Oh dear lord. Pleasedon'tbedemons, pleasedon'tbedemons…_

_Wait, why was I just sitting on my bed still? Shit, I'm an IDIOT._

_I threw my book down on my bed, and ran to the window. As I was struggling to open it, the footsteps stopped suddenly, followed by a very loud thud. Quite similar, I guess you could say, to the noise of someone being hit round the head with a hard object and promptly falling to the floor unconscious._

_Or maybe that's just my crazy imagination, haha._

_My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I thought it might actually break free. I couldn't hear any more noises, and I was panicking that if I made a move, someone would hear. _

_So it was a no-go with the squeaky window, then. _

_What the _hell_ was I going to do? I was searching frantically around my room, seeing if there was anywhere to hide. You'd think Jesse would have made some sort of escape hatch available, but no. All there seemed to be was a cupboard and a bed to hide under. Not exactly the best places to hide from a demon._

_So I went for the only option I knew there was. To fight._

_Now, I'm a good fighter. I practice kickboxing, and I'm pretty good at self-defence. I know how to throw a punch. But this was a _demon_. The guards they had were incredibly well built and strong – it wouldn't be a fair fight at all._

_But I had no other choice. _

_I grabbed the simple wooden chair from the corner. I had no idea what it was for – it didn't even look comfortable. It was just perched in the corner to look nice. And also act as a weapon._

_I'm not going to lie and say that I could easily pick it up ready to swing it. But with the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, I didn't care. This was all I had, and I wasn't going to go down without a fight._

_I heard breathing from the opposite side of the door. I knew that he knew I was in here. And I knew that he was waiting for me, just the same as I was waiting for him. Fighting wasn't just about strength – it was tactics. And I was hoping that my experience would be better than his. _

_My heart was pounding, and there was a constant ringing in my ears from the pressure. My senses were heightened, watching out for any movement from outside – any clue as to when to attack. But he was staying still, just like me. I was standing to the side of the door, so as soon as it opened I could hit him round the face. _

_I just hope that he doesn't have a weapon either. Or, you know, that it's not better than a chair… Not that a chair would be hard to beat. _

_And then I saw it. The slight movement of the door handle. He was turning it._

_Taking in a breath, I prepared myself for attack, holding the chair at the ready._

_The door burst open, and I swung the chair at him with all my strength, legs first. I was aiming for his head, but his massive figure meant that I ended up hitting him in the chest and stomach, winding him. He fell to the floor heaving, grasping at his chest, at where a few large splinters of wood had broken off and lodged themselves into his skin and muscle. _

_Well that's disgusting._

_Taking the opportunity, I hit him again round the head with what was left of the chair, knocking him unconscious. His body was splayed out awkwardly, some blood oozing out of his chest. I almost felt bad for injuring him, until I remembered that he was going to kidnap me. Or kill me._

_Neither of which I was a fan of, really._

_After congratulating myself on knocking out a guard without obtaining any injury myself, I picked up one of the sharp-ended legs of the chair that had broken off. I had a feeling I'd need this later._

_Walking out of my bedroom and into the small hallway leading to the kitchen and living area, I noticed the destruction that this demon had caused. The pictures on the wall had fallen and smashed, the small vase of flowers on the table had been obliterated, and there were a few dents in the wall._

_And then I realised something. All of the destruction had been in a line, from the kitchen to around halfway down the hallway. Until it stopped a few yards ahead of me, where a body lay mangled._

_It took all I had to keep my food down. I covered my mouth with one of my hands, blocking my airways so maybe I wouldn't have to breath in that smell of rust and salt._

_I edged closer, carefully. I could see the maid's bun, the grey hairs covered in sticky crimson liquid. She had been hit with one of the picture frames that had fallen down, and the glass shards had wedged themselves in the back of her head. The corner of the frame had made a deep wound in the back of her head, and this was the source of most of the blood that had pooled around her on the floor._

_I tried not to burst into tears, not to react to the scene ahead of me. But this lady had _died_. Sure, I didn't like her, but I wouldn't wish death on her! She had died because of me – because for some reason a demon wanted me, and had killed an innocent lady to get to me. _

_Carefully, I stepped round her, trying to keep my tears in. I was biting my bottom lip to try and prevent myself from making a sound. I couldn't cry. Crying would make a noise. And I needed to focus to make sure I got out of here safely. _

_The kitchen and living area hadn't had so much damage. The kitchen hadn't been touched – all the plates were in their original position, and the tables and chairs hadn't moved in the slightest. The living area, to the left of me, had been affected slightly. One of the end tables had been knocked over, sending books sprawling over the floor, pages and binds ripped and damaged. The front door was also wide open, and I could see a horse outside, I presumed from the guard that I had just knocked unconscious. _

_I walked outside, carefully, holding my broken chair leg at the ready. I knew that it wasn't exactly impressive, but it would have to do._

_The guards that had been protecting me (which had done a pretty useless job of doing so) lay unconscious on the ground, both of them hit by something. I knew that there was no one else here to help me. I was on my own._

_I could hear a horse running. More demons were coming – I doubted Jesse would be back so soon. Would he know that this was happening? _

… _Would I ever see him again?_

_I tried to keep my thoughts at bay; they weren't going to help. I needed to focus, and keep a clear head._

_The horse was coming closer. I turned right, running to the side of the house. But the house was in a clearing – I only got to a small patch of waist-high bushes, a few metres in front of the edge of the forest, before the horses were too close. I lunged behind them, keeping down._

_Through a small hole in the bushes, I could see two black horses ride up to the front of the cottage. The two demons jumped off, their thick leather boots thudding on the ground. Both had on large black capes, which seemed to exaggerate their massive sizes. One of them had short, dark hair, and small beady eyes. I could make out the deep frown lines on his forehead from where I was crouching they were so defined. The other had slightly longer hair, and more brown in colour. His eyes, too, were small and squinting, his thick eyebrows furrowed together. This one was slightly shorter and less menacing. But not by much._

_They both grunted at each other, and the larger one went into the house. Thank God. I did not want him anywhere near me. The other one stomped off to the other side of the cottage, no doubt trying to find me. _

_I was paying attention to the demon in the house. I could hear smashing, no doubt him knocking things over trying to find me hiding, and his footsteps were so loud I could practically feel the ground shaking. I didn't care what he did to the house – as long as he didn't come outside before I had the chance to run._

_Unfortunately, that chance hadn't come up yet. The other demon was still in my line of site, never fully going around the corner of the house. But I could see him checking bushes. Which meant that if I wasn't careful, he was going to look behind this bush very soon._

_I was calculating my chances of escaping. If he started checking the bushes and woodland furthest away from me, he wouldn't be facing me. And there would be a large enough distance for me to be able to run away in time. As long as I didn't do something stupid._

_I watched his every movement. He was still too close, and would probably see me if I ran for it behind me. He was also close to his horse, which would undoubtedly be faster than I would be._

_Why don't I have a horse? That totally gives them the unfair advantage here._

_As well as the fact that there's TWO OF THEM._

_Bah. Demons never fight fair, do they?_

_My legs were starting to burn from holding in the same position. I needed to move before I couldn't hold my balance anymore._

_I put my arm out to the side carefully, and placed it gently on the floor so I wouldn't make any noise. I then lowered my self a bit more so my knees were resting on the floor, helping my balance. I lifted my arm, switched the snapped wooden chair leg I was still holding to the other hand, and rested on the other one instead._

_To find that there was a sharp twig sticking out of the ground right where I put my hand._

_I gasped and pulled out the offending twig. It hadn't gone too far in my hand, but it was still starting to bleed. _

_I heard footsteps. Looking up, I could see through the crack in the bush the demon walking in this direction, his beady eyes watching everything like a hawk._

_Shit. My gasp when the twig went into my hand hadn't gone unnoticed._

"_Herrrrrrrrrre, kitty kitty…"_

_You have _got_ to be kidding me._

"_I know you're hereeee…"_

_You know what? The singing isn't doing it for me._

"_We won't hurt you…"_

_Uh huh._

"… _Much…"_

_Oh crap._

_I was watching the demon in front of me so much, I had failed to notice that the other demon had come out of the house. But I soon noticed this when a hand came over my mouth and a gruff voice said into my ear, "Gotcha."_

_THAT was the point where I really started shitting myself._

_I twisted around, and managed to hit him in the side of the arm with my wooden stake. He growled, and yanked it out of my hand, throwing it across the meadow we were in. Then he pulled me up, and started dragging me towards the two horses._

_By this point, the guard with the longer hair had noticed where I was, and charged towards me, helping his friend carry me over to the horses that were by now not too far away. I was struggling to get out of their grasp – I was kicking my legs as much as I could, twisting my body and flailing my arms around. I looked like an idiot. But the constant kicking meant that the smaller of the two guards lost his grip on my right foot, enough for me to kick it into his head, freeing my feet enough for me to stand up._

_The guard who I had kicked in the head was getting up from the floor and practically growling at me, ready for another attack. But the one still holding onto my wrists was the main priority – I stomped on his foot as a distraction, and then elbowed him nicely to the stomach, making him double over slightly, enough for me to punch him in the jaw. _

_With all my limbs free, I ran towards the forest, legs and heart pumping frantically. I could hear the demons behind me, catching me up, but I tried not to think about it. I was focusing on the tree in front of me, and then the tree after that, and then another. I was so focused on running away, widening the gap between me and the demons, that I wasn't paying enough attention to what else was near me. Twigs and branches and pine needles were scratching me as I raced past, like hands trying to drag me back. But they wouldn't – _couldn't_ - slow me down. The adrenalin pumping through me, making my ears ring and my feet tingle, would be enough to keep me going faster. It _had _to be._

_Who cared if it was two against one? And unfair fight? I had fought them off once – I had to keep trying. For Jesse. For _me.

_Another branch got in the way. I could feel the pain along my right eyebrow, the warm wet liquid trickling down my face. I blinked, keeping it out of my eye. But the hit to the side of my head knocked me, and I was loosing my footing, loosing the rhythm. My vision blurred, and I could feel myself falling. _

_My hands and feet were scrambling, pushing against the wet leafy ground of the undergrowth. Something grabbed my ankle, and I kicked blindly, hearing a groan, and then my foot was free. I pushed myself up more, finally getting on two feet. I pumped my legs more, ignoring the pain and soreness in my muscles as I was overworking them. _

_But my fall had closed the gap more – I could feel the guards closer, gaining up on me. They weren't going to give up either. _

_And then there was a slight dip in the ground. I tripped again, but didn't have enough time to rebalance myself. I was rolling down a slope, picking up the mud and leaves as I went, like a snowball. I knocked into a rock near the bottom, stopping my descent. My whole body ached, too stiff for me to move. The hit to the head from earlier was making itself known – the once dull ache was strengthening, taking my vision. I tried to move again, and whimpered. I must have twisted my wrist as I fell – I couldn't put weight on it. _

_And then I saw two figures at the top of the slop, coming down. Towards me. And I couldn't move any more. _

_This was it. The. End._

_The blurriness was getting darker and darker, and a teardrop, mixed with blood from my forehead, slid down my cheek as I closed my eyes. _

* * *

**So that's how Suze ended up at the castle. This leads into chapter 8, with Suze in a cell with Paul. And OHMYGOD, this was so crazy hard to write. I'm sticking to the normal plot from now on, it's so much easier. xD**

**Feel free to give me a belated birthday present in the form of a review. :D**


	20. Numb

**This chapter took a little longer as I wasn't happy with it. So a big thank you to _I want to be Jesse's girl_ for reading over it for me!**

**Btw, **_**Corner of Your Heart,**_** by Ingrid Michaelson, and **_**Displaced, **_**by Azure Ray, fit really well into this section of the story. Well, I think so, but that might be because I was listening to those songs while editing. XD They're really lovely, so go listen to them anyway. They'll be on youtube, most likely. Everything's on youtube. XD **

* * *

**Chapter XX**

The lightening brightening the whole room and the crack of thunder woke me up. It jolted me awake, so much so that I tumbled onto the floor in a tangle of covers, and landed with a thud on the wooden floor. Any drowsiness left in me was forcefully whacked out of me.

Groaning, I got up, rubbing my head, and sat back down on the chaise longue. I had been sleeping on it ever since… that night with Paul. The bed was still in the same condition, the sheets tangles.

I had kept all maids – apart from Abbey, of course – out of my room, and so my room was slowly becoming more and more messy, with dust collecting on lampshades and ornaments, and the glossy surfaces of the polished wood. But I didn't want anyone coming into my room; I didn't want anyone near me at all. I was getting sick of this godforsaken place and the demons and this ridiculous situation and _Paul._

Abbey and Jesse were the only people I had spoken to since the incident two days ago, when I had returned from the dungeons after seeing Isabelle. Abbey was being a supportive friend, and Jesse seemed to be grateful that he was back in my life – although I had assured him time and time again that it was me that should be thankful, especially seeing as he was helping me so much. He had managed to spend some time with me, despite the fact that he may have been needed back at his own kingdom to protect Isabelle, who was one of his own. He had helped keep up my motivation and mental attitude, and discuss strategies.

The strategies being, well… nothing.

I couldn't go near Isabelle – her cell was now on high alert, and Paul was spending a lot of time down there. I couldn't face Paul, firstly (although I did not share this information with Jesse), was because I wasn't sure just how much I could take. My emotions went haywire as soon as he was near, and I didn't want his little comments (his latest one still ringing in my ears) to affect me. Secondly, there wasn't a lot I could do to Paul. He was more powerful than me.

Jesse had tried to negotiate with Paul, but he wouldn't budge. This left Jesse with little choice - he was full aware of Paul's army, which was built on strength and fighting ability. And seeing as Jesse had finally restored his kingdom to its former glory, he didn't want to push things too far.

After my recent encounter with Paul, I had been a mess. I locked myself away in my bathroom, and luckily Abbey never came into my room, so she never knew. I hated that his words could affect me so much, but he had hit a nerve. It was like he knew what buttons to press and then kept pressing them again and again until it became too much. I felt like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any given moment. Little things would frustrate me, and I'd just lose control. Even with Jesse, I had shouted once or twice, letting my rage get the better of me. Jesse had managed to calm me down, attempting to be sympathetic and understanding – and it was that that always broke me down. The look on his face, a mixture of hurt and regret and guilt and concern all wrapped up, was what always - and it pains me to say it - reduced me to tears.

Apart from my little outbursts, Jesse's presence had been calming, and always relieved that pressure, that hurt, in my chest. But it was moments when I was alone, like I was now, in the darkness of my room, that the pain and heartache got to me, as if punishing me for repressing it all day. Because I always tried not to show it to Jesse - I didn't want him to read into it too far, to realise that I had fooled myself into loving _him_, a demon. Whilst I hadn't been too successful at keeping my calm and apathetic façade, I hoped that my attempt was enough to leave Jesse unaware of that night between Paul and I. Abbey had been sworn to secrecy about that, and it had appeared that she had kept her word.

Paul had told me not to regret it. That I _shouldn't_ regret it.

But how could I not when he kept saying comments like _that_ to me?

_"You couldn't even wear white on your wedding day"…_

Not only should I regret giving _him_ my virginity, the same man rubbing it in my face, but I should also be regretting that I had screwed up any chance with marrying any other man, be it Jesse or otherwise.

Silent tears made their way down my face. My nails were sore from my biting them. I was in turmoil, exhausted from feeling too much, tired of the pretending. I had been staring out of the window blankly, looking but not really seeing, but now that I paid attention, I noticed that people below, in the city, were starting to move. Although it didn't appear to be daylight, due to the sun not being able to seep through the storm clouds, the movement of the city signalled that it was a reasonable waking hour.

Numbly, I made my way to the shower, turning the tap to lukewarm, but I could hardly feel the droplets of water against my skin. I dressed in a layered green and black dress with long sleeves, and a skirt that wasn't too wide. After checking my appearance in the mirror and decided that not even the most beautiful diamonds could take away the dull look upon my face (trust me, I had tried), I resumed my place back on the chaise long, occupying myself once again by looking blankly out of the window. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, but before I could ask who it was, Abbey was already walking in and shutting the door behind her.

"Are you busy staring out of the window or would you like to do something?" She asked, looking at my lazed form.

Sighing, I turned around. "Did Jesse send you?"

A smile played at her lips. "Maaaaaaaaaaybe. But you're not sitting around here all day, I'm taking you to the cell-"

"No way, nuh-uh, not going." I said, holding my hand up to stop her sentence before she could finish.

She raised her eyebrow at me, placing a hand on her hip, while flicking her long dark hair with the other. "I was talking about William, not Isabelle. You should see him."

I looked down at my lap, attempting to hide my blush, and chewed on my lip. "William hasn't got nearly as much security," she continued, noticing my lack of response. "He's only being kept there so that they can ensure that he doesn't intervene."

"Or do anything stupid…" I said, recalling the piece of advice that I had given him that time in my room… how long ago was that? It felt like ages…

Abbey nodded, her hair bouncing as she did so. "Exactly. So, my little Susie Pie, how about we pay him a little visit, huh?" She asked, coming over and linking our arms together, so that she could guide – well, more like _drag_ – me out of the door and towards an entrance that led to the dungeons.

"Do I have any choice in this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She turned to me, grinning. "Nope."

And so we continued down the labyrinth of the halls and staircases, towards the cell where William was being kept. I had no idea where he was, but apparently Abbey had checked beforehand (or gotten Jesse to find out for her) before dragging me along.

I knew what she was doing. She was trying to keep me busy. As much as I hated to admit it, she knew that if she left me for too long, I'd start wallowing in self-pity and guilt and self-hate. Abbey had been there with me throughout the last few days, whether it was in my room, or dragging me to various places, or even to the meetings with Jesse. I was grateful. It was good to have support. Jesse certainly hadn't been lying when he said that I wouldn't be alone in this.

We turned the last corner, arms still linked, and me still silent, and reached a large metal door. Abbey unlinked herself, and reached forwards to open the door, which did so with a loud grating noise of scraping metal and stone.

She walked in first, and leaving the door ajar for me to enter, after which she shut the door behind with a resounding thud.

"… Hello?" came a tentative, rough voice from a corner of the room.

"Hi, it's just me, and I brought Suze." I looked towards Abbey, who was making her way across the cell. It was less grimy than most of the other cells, though not by much. It still smelt of damp, and it wasn't exactly bright. Not that the weather helped with that – from the little window high up on the wall, not much light could seeping through due to the thick storm clouds.

It appeared that Abbey and Will had already met, presumably that was how Abbey knew exactly where she was going, and why she wasn't the least bit shy towards him – not that Abbey was ever shy, unless faced by demons. But that was with good reason.

"Suze? I wondered if you were going to come…"

In the dim light, I could faintly see his features. He was covered in dirt, but his face looked cleaner than the rest of him, even if it was only by a small margin. He may have been able to wash his face while he was down here, although it didn't appear to be too often. His normally neat hair was tousled, sticking up like antennae from his head. Unlike Isabelle, he wasn't tied to anything, so it was obvious that he wasn't a threat, or for that matter important. He was simply here for surveillance. Physically, he didn't appear under great pain. But emotionally… it was a different story.

The eyes. His _eyes_. They held so much pain, so much anguish. He looked broken, his shoulders slumped slightly and his usual innocent and care-free expression was completely absent. He had loved Isabelle – he still _did_ love Isabelle. And his one true love was currently in a cell somewhere, about to be given to a demon. And it was because of him, partly, that this happened. He was the one who finally gave in, who gave her over to the demons. It made me think of how Jesse must have felt, seven years ago, but I quickly pushed that thought away.

"I wasn't aware that you were down here…" I murmured, looking at my shoes, the floor, anywhere but his _eyes_. What I had said was partly true – I may have known that he was in a cell, I just wasn't aware as to _where_ he actually was.

"Well, I thought Suze would like to see you," Abbey said, trying to damper the awkward conversation with her chipper mood. "We're all trying to get involved as much as we can, and help you and Izzy…"

She continued talking to William, while I tuned out. It was odd, her bubbly personality in a place like this. She truly never had fit in here, in this city of despair, ruled by darkness and demons. I supposed that she could fit in where I came from, across the Valley. She hadn't originally come from there, instead from a small town beyond the mountains, surrounded by lush green grass and farms.

Jesse's kingdom, I decided, was where she would ideally be suited. Not that I would belong there anymore. Not now. It wasn't that I had been here too long – Abbey had been here almost a year longer than I had, even though I had only known her for the past three years. But the difference was that I had been corrupted. Damaged. I was a broken toy, and did not deserve to stay in the shiny toy box, just the bottom of a dusty wardrobe.

"Suze!"

My thoughts were cut short, and I found Abbey looking at me, an exasperated look on her face. "What?" I asked, somewhat defensively.

"Will was just wondering how Izzy's been." The words were spoken with a deliberate calmness, attempting to be of comfort, at least to William. But the angry look she directed towards me said it all: _pay attention_. Clearly she wasn't too happy with my spacing out. I tried to answer the question.

"Oh, yeah, well, she's upset, I guess. I mean, she agreed to-"

"Really, she's doing a lot better now," Abbey said, cutting in, and giving me a glare to tell me to shut the hell up. "I heard she's gotten over the shock, and quite a lot of arrangements haven't been sorted yet, so…"

I tuned out again, as Abbey continued speaking to William. She'd cut me off because she didn't want me to upset him further. She especially didn't want me to tell him about the fact that Isabelle had already agreed to marry Paul. At least not from me, and not now.

But surely he'd want to know the truth? What's the point in being lied to? At a time like this, in a _place_ like this, not everything is going to be hunky-dory, peaches and cream. He should be told the truth, and be fully aware of what was happening, and what was going to happen.

But apparently, this wasn't the socially acceptable thing to do.

Eh, what was I supposed to know? I had been around people with no morals for too long.

Something touched my elbow. Abbey. "Okay, well, I might see you later. We're doing all we can, _aren't we_, Suze?"

"Er, yeah, right, we are…"

Abbey's grip on my elbow had tightened considerably as we said our goodbyes to Will. She led me out of the cell, back to my room, without saying so much as a word. It was fine by me – it allowed me the space to engage in my own thoughts.

"What the HELL is WRONG with you?" Abbey shouted, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration and turning to face me as soon as we had returned to my bedroom. We'd barely even shut the door.

"What are you talking about?"

"YOU! We went down there to HELP, I took you so you could ask questions, and you don't SAY anything! Way to make the guy feel optimistic!"

"Why should he feel optimistic? It's not going to end well. Raising his hopes will only hurt him more when they come crashing down."

She snorted, and put her hands on her hips. "That's just your pessimism talking."

"Yeah, well… yeah. Whatever. The point is, Paul has Isabelle, and he won't let her go. There's little we can do. We can't even get anywhere near her!" I flopped down on my chaise longue, and rested my head in my hands, feeling somewhat defeated.

"We can't just give up, though, Suze! We have to keep trying; it's not fair on Isabelle. Or William, for that matter." She said, taking a seat beside me, and putting her arm round my shoulder.

"I know, I know…" I sighed. "I'm just… tired. I've had enough, Abbey. I want out. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of trying to make things better when it might make things worse, and I'm just… numb."

She smoothed my hair gently, trying to calm me. "I know it's hard, Suze. I know you're in a lot of pain, but-"

"No, you _don't_ know, Abbey…"

"But I _understand_. Look, I'll get Jesse to keep doing what he can; he's got more say in things. We won't completely give in, Suze."

I sighed. I wasn't going to fight it anymore. "Alright, alright… fine. Whatever."

And then we sat there, Abbey's arm still around me, and my head leaning on her shoulder. We'd done what we could. All we could do now was wait.

* * *

**Ahhh, calm before the storm, oui oui. :)**

**_PLEASE READ: _I've been getting a lot fewer reviews than hits recently. We're pretty far in, so it's obvious you're not just browsing. So could you please take a minute to give me a review – even a little one? Thanks!**

**And I'm thinking of writing a fanfic full of Demonic Possession one-shot outtakes – basically, scenes that I wanted to put in but didn't fit, and scenes in different POV, etc. So if you're interested, please say so in a review (and feel free to request something that you would have liked to have seen!), and I'll try writing them after this is finished. :)**


	21. Enough

"_Come across you're lost and broken  
__You're coming to, but you're slow and waking  
__You start to shake, you still haven't spoken, what happened  
__They're coming back and you just don't know it  
__And you wanna cry but there's nothing coming  
__They're gonna push until you give in, say when  
__Now we're here and it turns to chaos, hurricane coming all around us  
__They're gonna crack, don't you back from the window, you stay low  
__It all began with the man and country  
__Every plan turns another century around again  
__And another nation fallen"_

- _Say When_, The Fray

* * *

**Chapter XXI**

"I'm speaking with the council this afternoon, so I can find some sort of legal reason why this can't happen." Jesse said, running a hand through his hair. We were sitting at the table in my room, as Jesse had come in while I was still eating breakfast.

"Do you think they'll help?" I asked, taking a grape from the fruit bowl and popping it in my mouth.

He sighed. "Possibly. But there may be other more pressing matters out there. You have to remember, Susannah, that to them, Isabelle is just some girl. She's of no importance to save."

I swallowed the grape quickly, almost chocking. "Some girl?" I questioned, outraged. "Who cares if she's of no importance? She's still been kidnapped and taken by some demons, and forced into a life that she doesn't want to live-"

"But she _agreed_ to marry him, Susannah." Jesse said, looking at me with sympathy. He knew how much I hated people who just didn't understand what was happening, didn't understand what it was like to be forced into a whole different life. "It's hard to find a reason to save her when she's agreed to it. At least, not a reason that the council will find legible."

I sighed, and put my head in my hands. Why was it so hard to convince people that this was _wrong?_ Not even the council, who made the decisions for this region, seemed to want to do anything about it. It was hard for Jesse, although he was a ruler of a very large and influential city, to persuade them to make changes. This group of men who had been around for centuries (their places going to the next generations, similar to that of the place of king), were originally made to keep the peace. With two of the largest cities constantly fighting, there needed to be neutral ground.

But the neutral ground wasn't really doing its job at the moment, in my opinion.

"She should never have said yes…" I said, mumbling into my hands. I inhaled deeply, trying to clear my head, but it wasn't working. I was still pissed at Isabelle for agreeing to marry him. And even more annoyed at the fact that I was jealous of her, even if it was only slightly. After all, she was marrying the man that just a few days ago had promised me that he would forget about marriage for the time being, and stay with me. I put my hands back on the table, looking back at Jesse.

"I know, Susannah. But maybe she's just not as stubborn as you are." He smiled slightly, trying to lighten the conversation, and my mood. It didn't help.

He noticed my mood, and sighed, his expression concerned. "Querida…" He murmured, reaching across the table to hold my hand that was lying on top of it. But as soon as his hand touched mine, I retreated it, and folded my hands on top of my lap, underneath the table, and out of reach. I didn't want to be comforted. I didn't want people – especially Jesse – to take pity on me.

His expression changed to one of hurt, and he took his hand back too. I looked down, not making eye contact. I didn't want to see the effect my depressed, numb mood was having on him. I didn't _want_ to hurt him.

He cleared his throat, as if getting attention. He had noticed my spacing out. I looked up to show that I was listening, but did not look at his face.

"I better get going, I'll be meeting the council shortly…" He said quietly, getting up and ready to leave. I stood up too, ready to say goodbye.

He continued speaking, while picking up his long, black coat. "I'll come back later, after I've spoken with them, and we'll see what we can do-"

The door knocked, cutting of his speech. Before either of us could shoo away whoever was there, in came Abbey, with a nervous expression on her face. She shut the door behind her quietly, and then stood, facing Jesse and I, twiddling her thumbs.

Jesse and I looked at each other, quizzical, then turned to look back at Abbey. Now, she looked anxious, her eyebrows turned up where they met, a little worry line appearing on her face. She was struggling to say something, I could tell.

I looked at Jesse in confusion, but he seemed to have understood. His face was turned towards me, as if checking my mood. He, too, had a worry line, and his expression almost broke my heart with the amount of concern and almost _fear_.

It dawned on me what Abbey was here for before she finally said something.

"It's time."

My breathing was coming out in quick, sharp gasps, and I had to hold my chest to try and keep myself together. Jesse was by my side immediately, running his hands up and down my arms soothingly.

"Susannah, it's okay, it'll be fine…" He was trying to comfort me with his words, but they were too quick, too frantic. I wasn't the only one who was starting to panic. And that did nothing to help my inner turmoil.

"Querida…" He murmured again, his hands on my face now, trying to get me to look at him. "Susannah." He said, louder this time, trying to snap me out of it. I looked up, our eyes locking. "I will sort this out – Isabelle will be fine. Trust me, Susannah." I was shaking my head, my hair swishing against my shoulders and the side of my face. "_Trust_ me."

His eyes had lost their panicked look. As I was staring, I came to the conclusion that this was all I had left. _Jesse_ was all I had left. All I could do now was trust him, trust that he would make this right.

"Okay…" I whispered, calming down. His hands came back to my hair, smoothing it down, and then he held onto my shoulders.

"It'll be okay. Goodbye, querida." He said, and kissed me on my forehead, before leaving the room.

It did not escape me that that was what he had done seven years ago, before he left me in that cottage, just days before I was kidnapped by the demons.

**-&-**

Abbey was brushing my hair softly, taking out the tangles before she could style it. I was sitting at my dressing table, facing towards the mirror, still in a bathrobe. I hadn't picked out a dress yet. What was appropriate to wear to the wedding of a demon lord and a poor, innocent young girl?

"You don't have to go, you know." Abbey said, looking at me through the mirror. She knew I was still worrying about going.

I shook my head slightly, but stopped when I realised that Abbey was trying to smooth it out. "No, I do… I _should_ go…"

She sighed, and carried on. I knew she didn't like the thought of me going. She thought that when I came back, I'd be worse. But I _had_ to go. If I was there when it happened, when Paul and Isabelle were married, it would give me some closure. Because that would be it. The end. And then I would be able to move on with my life, and finally go _do _something.

Well, that was the plan. I wasn't too sure that it was going to work out that way, though. In this city, nothing ever went the way it was supposed to.

Although, I suppose, if everything were the way it was supposed to be, I wouldn't be here in the first place. I would be with Jesse, maybe even married to him. And Izzy and Will would be together, and probably never even bump into a demon. Maybe even Abbey would never have been brought to this city, and be living a good life on a farm somewhere. Where she was supposed to be.

But Paul had decided that he wanted me. And seven years ago, when that decision was made, so many lives were changed because of it. Everything was knocked out of balance. Never to go back to what it was.

For one thing, even if this turned out okay (not that I was being hopeful – I knew that all that led to was more disappointment), and Isabelle was saved, there was no guarantee that I would be back with Jesse. I knew that I didn't belong there, in the kingdom. And why would anyone there accept me when I had lived with demons for all these years?

No. Even if Jesse managed to prevent this marriage from happening, not everything would go back to what it was. _I_ would never be able to go back to my old life.

"Suze?"

I looked up, and watched Abbey's reflection in the mirror. She was looking at me calmly, almost motherly.

"How would you like to have your hair done?" She asked, softly.

"Oh, erm, I'm not sure… You decide."

Our non-conversation went on like this, her doing my hair, occasionally asking questions to stop me from spacing out, and me giving her non-committal answers. Just a simple 'yes', or 'no', or a 'hmmm'.

She had decided on a loose bun, allowing some curls to fall around my face. She had placed a hair comb in my hair, with beautiful diamonds arranged to look like flowers, ranging in sizes, and all with a single emerald in the middle.

She also added some make-up, with just some dark eye shadow and liner around my eyes, with a little bit of silver to make them striking. The dark colours, and the emeralds in my hair, brought out the bright green of my eyes, and the deep red pigment she painted on my lips added contrast. It was very formal and elegant, far more dramatic than I would usually go for, but it seemed to work. I was going to a demon wedding, after all. Macabre was probably going to be the main style of dress.

"So… what dress?"

Abbey had opened the wardrobe, showing me a vast array of dresses. All black, of course. I walked over, and started flicking through them, biting my lip. I had no idea what I should be wearing, or what was suitable.

Eventually, I decided on a black strapless taffeta dress, which tightly hugged my figure and flowed out from my hips. The fabric was ruched at the side, and there was a beautifully delicate trim along the neckline with small flowers and diamonds, which I thought matched the hair comb beautifully. I paired it with a chocker style diamond necklace, and chunky bracelet, to counteract the simplistic design of the dress. Along with an amazing pair of black heels, I looked quite good. Beautiful, almost.

"Hmmm, I do like that dress. One of the better ones in the collection, it must be said." Abbey commented, still tying the ribbons of the corset at the back, and looking round me into the mirror at my reflection.

"Yes… better than most…" I murmured, fiddling with the necklace.

"You know, most of those dresses you might as well chuck out. Get some new ones in – maybe ones with _colour_."

"No…"

Abbey had finished with the corset, and was now standing in front of me. "What? Why the hell not? What's wrong with colour – black's so _boring-_"

"No, I mean, I'm not… I'm not staying here any longer. I'm not coming back."

It had only really come to me, when Abbey started discussing things about the future. I wasn't going to come back here, back to this room that I had been living in for the past seven years.

"… What? What do you mean?" Abbey now stood with a confused and slightly saddened look on her face.

"I… I can't come back here, Abbey. Not with Isabelle and Paul…" I sighed, looking around my room. "I can't stay. I need to leave, to get away from here, once all this is finished. The only reason I've been staying around is because Paul wouldn't let me go, and now he'll probably let me, seeing as he has Isabelle. So… I can leave. Finally, after seven years."

"I guess… I mean, I can understand that. I just… well, I never really thought about it…" Abbey said, for once almost lost for words.

I hadn't thought about it either, until now. Not properly, anyway. I knew I was going to leave here eventually – it had just taken me until now to realise how soon it was that I was going to leave. I didn't even know where to _go_.

"You could always go to Jesse's," Abbey said, as if answering my thoughts. "He'd let you stay with him. It'll be better for you there, that's for sure."

"Hmmm… I suppose."

Jesse's place was better for _Abbey_. She didn't deserve to stay here – she was so kind, and bubbly, and _human_. After I've left his place, I was going to organise an arrangement for Abbey to leave, to go to Jesse's kingdom, so she could finally be free, just like I'm going to be. I'm sure I could get Jesse to do it for me – he was fairly acquainted with Abbey, and knew how lovely she was. He'd definitely be willing to get her away from here.

There was a knock on the door, and my heart plummeted.

A maid walked in, leaving the door open for me.

"A carriage is waiting for you, miss."

Abbey and I looked at each other, both of us nervous. Then we hugged each other fiercely, with Abbey trying to comfort me with words of support. After a few minutes, the maid cleared her throat, signally me to cut the goodbyes short.

With a final, watery smile, I followed the maid, and walked to the carriage to take me to the wedding of an innocent girl and a demon I was in love with.

**-&-**

I stepped out of the carriage, and immediately regretted the heels. The wedding was to take place in The Valley, a neutral ground, allowing anyone in the surrounding area to watch. This also meant having to stand in a muddy field. In heels. And a long dress. Not the best combination.

As I was hobbling along, to take my stand in the front row, I looked around at the people who had already gathered. It wasn't a very large affair, but a fair few people had turned up. A few I recognised from the ball, but there were a lot I didn't recognise at all. The majority were male, as these things always were, but there were a few females, with their arms linked with others. They were, presumably, the queens of other kingdoms in the region. They, too, were wearing heels and long dresses, and looked just about annoyed as I was about the situation of the wedding. And everyone was wearing black.

Maybe Abbey was right. Weddings and funerals really were the same in this place.

It was as I was standing there, in the wind and darkness of the gathering storm clouds, that Paul and guards appeared, moving to the front. I was avoiding looking at Paul, and was looking around me when I noticed William, standing to the side, looking completely lost.

_Oh, no_. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't witness the love of his life being taken by a demon. How could they let him be here?!

And then I realised. They were making him _watch._ Just like in that story Paul told me, on the rooftops – Elysia had to watch her first love be tortured and killed. The demons were making him watch out of pure maliciousness. And in the back of my mind, I just knew it was Paul who decided to make him attend this wedding. Why else would he be brought here?

It was cruel. Heartless. And then I remembered what Paul had said after I had been so disgusted by the story. _"It's the way demons are, Suze_,"he had said.

I had said that he needn't be like that. That things changed.

But I was wrong. Paul was just as sadistic as the demons had been all those years ago.

I was still watching William. He was pulling at his hair, so obviously in distress, and heartbroken. I could tell, even from where I was, that he was fighting back the tears.

I took a step in his direction, wanting to go comfort him, but was held back by the guard next to me, who grabbed me around the waist. I glared at him in annoyance and disgust – all the demons were the same. They didn't care at all about another persons suffering, even if it was them who were causing it.

And then Isabelle was brought to the front, in a thin white dress, billowing in the strong wind. She looked so scared, her eyes wide. She looked so fragile and vulnerable between all of the large demons guarding her. She was taken to stand opposite Paul, who was still in talks with some elders.

My heartbeat sped up. This was it – it was about to start.

But where was _Jesse_? He had said he was talking with the council, that he was going to call an immediate meeting. That had been hours ago, now. Were they still talking? It was going to be too late! The wedding was about to start. We had run out of time.

These past few days, spent furiously finding some way to stop this, had gone to waste. But as soon as we were possibly about to get somewhere, it was too late. It was about to be over.

Paul was still speaking to the few men with white beards and long black robes – similar to what all the people around here who had authority were wearing. What was he talking about? Were they still making arrangements _now_?

There was a commotion in the back of the audience. I could here people suddenly start talking, and the movement of people. And horses hooves.

I turned around, in time to see Jesse make an appearance, storming through the crowd with a determined look on his face.

"Stop this, _right now_, Paul." He thundered.

Paul sighed, and turned around, looking a little bit peeved. "I told you that you weren't welcome, Jesse."

Jesse was still walking up to the front, coming to stand near Paul. Luckily, he was still talking loud enough for me to hear what he was saying. "You can't _do this_, Paul. She is from _my kingdom_, and your demons," he shouted, pointing towards the guards all around, "Took her _illegally_. It is against the rules for her to even be in your possession, let alone be _married_ to you!"

Jesse was shouting. Jesse _never_ shouted. He never even got angry.

I was shocked, to say the least.

"She agreed to marry me, Jesse. Therefore, this wedding has been allowed." Paul replied stonily.

"She was taken from my land, and I do not approve of it. So no, this wedding _isn't_ being allowed."

Paul smiled, coldly. "Actually, she wasn't taken from you land. She was taken from a small woodland area, around five miles out of your limits. You have no say in whether this goes ahead or not."

I groaned, and looked at William, who looked scared shitless. What an _idiot!_ Why take her away from ruled land? How were we meant to save her if there was no one else with authority with a say against her? That basically just gave Paul the permission to do as he wished – and what he wished was to make Isabelle his queen.

People started talking again, obviously overhearing this conversation like I was. The elders had gathered again, obviously discussing the point that Jesse brought up. But then they turned again and shook their heads, signalling that Jesse's objection was overruled. The wedding was to be allowed.

_No!_

The last chance was gone. It was all over. There was no way we could save Isabelle anymore.

I was breathing heavily, holding onto my chest. My corset was tight, not allowing me to take the big gulps of air I needed. A searing pain was making its way across my head, my muscles tingled. The wind was making the loose strands of hair whip against my face, the rain getting heavier and weighing down my dress.

Isabelle was moved to stand directly in front of Paul, who was signalling to someone for something.

And then I saw it.

_The blood necklace._

No! This was wrong! They couldn't do this – they couldn't subject someone so young and innocent to a life that I had had to endure for the past seven years!

You know, at the start of this whole thing I was pretty upset. You would be too if the person you had given your virginity to went and got engaged to a younger, more innocent girl.

But now? Now I was angry. Severely _pissed_.

These people, these _demons_, had no right to change this girl's life so much. And how could the elders and the council let this _happen_? Were me and Jesse and Abbey the only sane people around here? The only people with _morals_?

Lightening struck a few hundred metres away, causing people to jump. There was a large crack through the air, and the charge made my muscles tingle. But I was still panicking. Paul was preparing the blood necklace. To destroy it. To replace mine and Paul's blood with his and Isabelle's. For there was only one blood necklace.

My breathing still came out in short gasps, and I had to hold a hand to my head. The throbbing in my head had worsened, making me squint through the pain.

A hand came on my arm.

"Susannah." Jesse was speaking to me urgently. "Susannah, calm down."

I was shaking my head, causing more hair from the bun to fall around my face. My hair was wet from the now heavy rain, sticking to my face. But the pain in my _head!_ Ergh!

I pushed Jesse away, and tried to focus on the ceremony that was about to start. Paul had put the necklace down, and was starting to take blood from Isabelle.

NO! No, no, no, no…

Enough! This wasn't fair!

And then I realised, as what felt like electricity flowed through me, that this was what I had been waiting for. I had given up all hope, but I was still _waiting_. And this was it.

This was my _opportune moment_.

I was still faintly aware of Jesse by my side, trying to talk to me. But I blocked it all out, and focused on Paul, who was about to start the ceremony. I had no idea what was happening, what I was doing, but I could _feel_ that with the electricity surging through me, the adrenalin pumping through my veins, that I could do _something_. I could stop this.

My head was still in agony. But I focused on the pain, the anger running through me. I channelled my emotions, like tapping into them for the first time. So raw, so _powerful_.

Paul was about to break the blood necklace.

_No._

ENOUGH!

I took in a big breath of air, trying to prepare myself for whatever the hell was going on.

"Susannah, NO!"

I let it out, focusing on Paul the entire time. I was almost blinded with bright white light, and I could hear a loud screaming in the background. And then I noticed that it was _me._ The power, the anger, and all of the _emotions_ running through me were being let out, but my head was throbbing more and more, the pain making my legs give way, so I collapsed, losing focus.

The power lost its strength and moved away from where I had been aiming it, and so I sucked it back in, as if protecting a personal possession. I felt my muscles weaken, the tingling fading into numbness. The bright light dimmed into blackness, and I let it take me.

_Enough._

* * *

**Review, please. :)**


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